Hyundai has a history of putting its combustion engines through some pretty taxing scenarios. Its first high-performance, N-branded engine, for example, was first shown to the public at the 2016 Nürburgring 24 Hours, where it powered a prototype racing car before showing up in the production i30 N the following year and the Veloster N in 2019. In fact, the automaker's performance lineup takes its name partially from the famed German racetrack, as well as the company's research center and proving ground in Namyang, South Korea. HyundaiHyundai will return to the Green Hell in May for the 2026 running of the Nürburgring 24 hours endurance race, and this time, it will once again hide its latest performance engine in plain sight. Two Elantra N1 RP prototypes will compete with a pre-production version of the powertrain, a move that will help the company guarantee durability before the engine launches in the next-generation Elantra N. It Already Sounds Like A Winner In anticipation of the race, Hyundai released a teaser video of the motor, with a totally black background accompanied by the engine's raspy voice as it starts up and revs through the gears, eventually revealing the glowing exhaust and turbocharger setup. Details from the video are limited, but each shift betrays a seductive blowoff noise, with mechanical clatter suggesting direct injection. A shot of the engine being hoisted into its race car home doesn't show much except two obvious nubbins on which to mount a beauty cover – this really is a production-intent mill.Just barely audible in the video is a whiff of exhaust rush, which retains the sporty howl and boom that make the current sports sedan so darn fun to drive. We hope Hyundai doesn't neuter the twin-bazooka tailpipes too much in the name of sound regulations, which in some parts of the world are targeting enthusiast cars for making too much noise. We'd gladly take the risk of a fine if it meant keeping the crackling exhaust on overrun with the new engine. Racing With The Big Boys The two Elantra N1 competitors will join a current-production Elantra N TCR on the grid, but instead of competing in the touring car category, the RP cars will race in the SP4T class. The special category gives some clues as to the new engine's specifications, since SPT4 is designated for turbocharged cars displacing 2,600 cubic centimeters (2.6 liters) or less. If the future N powertrain was a revised or redesigned version of the current 1,998cc Theta turbo, we presume Hyundai would've fielded it in the smaller SP3T class reserved for cars displacing 2.0 liters or less.HyundaiWe wonder, therefore, if the new powertrain takes its roots from the existing Hyundai Smartstream GDI engine, which is available as a turbocharged 2.5-liter in the Sonata N-Line, Santa Fe, and Palisade hybrid. In its current form, the 2.5 turbo makes an impressive 290 horsepower and 311 pound-feet in the sporty Sonata, numbers that compare well to the Elantra N's 276 hp and 289 lb-ft. Turning the wick up just a little bit more could turn the engine into a corral for 300-plus ponies, something we'd love to see.The next-generation Elantra is expected to make its global debut before the end of this year, with the higher-performance N model arriving a year after that. We're excited to see what the crew from Namyang is cooking up, as a 300-hp sport-compact would certainly be enough to give the Honda Civic Type R and long-rumored Subaru WRX STI something to worry about.Source: Hyundai