Hyundai Australia has secured 180 examples of the new i30 N Drive-N Limited Edition hot hatch, which will land in local showrooms before the end of the year.
The 180 examples offered locally will be out of a total pool of 800 units, making Australia’s allocation the second-largest by market with the rest of the vehicles destined for Europe.
While overseas markets will also have access to the i30 Fastback N version of the Drive-N Limited Edition, Hyundai Australia has opted to take just the hatchback body style.
Split 30:70 between manual and automatic, as well as 30:70 for black and the new Serenity White Pearl exterior paintwork, the rest of the spec of the Drive-N Limited Edition builds on the N Premium with sunroof.
To differentiate the Limited Edition from the standard i30 N however, Hyundai has added dark bronze-coloured 19-inch forged alloy wheels, as well as colour-matching decals and Drive-N badges on the front fenders.
Of note, these Limited Edition badges also display the coordinates for Hyundai’s Nurburgring test centre, “the home of the N models”, according to the brand.
The front and rear Hyundai badges are now also finished in black.
Inside, each i30 N Drive-N Limited Edition examples are fitted with a plaque denoting its build number out of 800, while leather is swapped out for Alcantara for the steering wheel, gear shifter, armrest and handbrake.
The hot hatch’s red-accent stitching still remains however, with the highlight colour now also extending to all seat belts and steering wheel N buttons.
Finally, the Limited Edition scores a new seat insert patter, as well as bespoke floor mats.
The i30 N’s 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine carries over unchanged however, which means a 206kW/392Nm output that is fed to the front axle.
The i30 N’s manual gearbox features six ratios and sports an rev-matching feature for optimal downshifts, while the automatic version uses a newly-developed eight-speed dual-clutch transmission with various settings.
Pricing is yet to be revealed for the Limited Edition, but the i30 N Premium with sunroof kicks off at $49,500 and $52,500 for the manual and automatic versions respectively, so expect to pay more for the Drive-N Limited Edition variants.
Keyword: 2022 Hyundai i30 N hatchback scores its first special edition! Drive-N Limited Edition arriving soon with bespoke looks to take on VW Golf GTI and Ford Focus ST