2026 Hyundai Ioniq 6 N Prototype Drive: More N-Credible EV Performance
Hyundai’s N team does it again with the super sports version of its all-electric-powered sedan.
“Now we will turn it to N mode, and you can use the paddles.” The instruction comes from the development driver who’s coached us patiently around a section of the “little Ring” in a camoed-up prototype of the new 2026 Hyundai Ioniq 6 N super sport sedan. Roger. Can do.
“Downshifting” into an interminably wide hairpin, the tach swings upward and the “engine” wails as we brake hard, turn in, and wait—and wait (did we mention wait?)—for the final apex before getting back on the “gas” and upshifting. Whoops—we jump on it too hard coming out of the corner, and the tail wags a little wide. No worries. Just lift a bit, regain grip, and we’re back on it, working the paddles through an uphill sweeper as a sonic symphony of software-generated noise fills the cabin with every simulated upshift.
We’ve been gleefully ripping around in the new Ioniq 6 N at Area C, part of Hyundai’s sprawling Namyang, South Korea, R&D facility. No, it’s not some super hush hush Area 51–style bunker, but rather it’s the circuit (modeled in spots after Germany’s famed Nürburgring) and development, uh, area, where Hyundai went about birthing its N performance vehicle arm roughly a decade ago. It’s also where we’re getting our first official taste test of the 2026 Ioniq 6 N, its latest madcap creation.
Using What Made the Ioniq 5 N Great
The Ioniq 6 N is the all-electric-powered second act to one of the most impressive performance vehicles we’ve experienced in several years, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N. Yes, it cribs many of the elements that made the 5 N such grin-shift-inducing fun and a MotorTrend Best Tech award winner. But it’s also poised to make its own mark thanks to several primarily software-based upgrades that build on those of its SUV progenitor.
As for the new 6 N’s powertrain, Hyundai has yet to provide us with its exact specs (those should be in the offing shortly along with more in-depth details as part of the car’s full unveiling), but we expect it to be roughly the same setup as in the 5 N, employing permanent-magnet motors at both axles and e-juice delivered to them via an 84-kWh battery pack. In the Ioniq 5 N, the front motor produces 273 hp and 273 lb-ft of torque, while the rear makes 406 hp and 295 lb-ft, good for totals of 601 hp (or 641 with 10 seconds of N Grin Boost engaged) and 568 lb-ft. As with all of Hyundai’s EVs, the car also uses a version of the company’s high-performance 800-volt system and E-GMP platform underpinnings.
One piece of new hardware, however, that’s easy to spot despite the prototype camo is the 6 N’s fixed, swan-neck-style wing fitted to the rear deck, a piece Hyundai says provides roughly 220 pounds of total combined downforce at 155 mph. Body-wise, there are a few other small callouts specific to the model, notably wider fenders (1.2 inches) than the base Ioniq 6 and a wheelbase lengthened by 0.6 inch, all primarily to better fit the 20-inch wheels and the wide 275/35R20 Pirelli P Zero Elect tires tuned for the car.
