Hyundai Ioniq 5N DK Edition primed for Tokyo show
DK as in Drift King. As in Keiichi Tsuchiya. Initial D fans to the front of the queue...
Nobody could accuse Hyundai of half-measures when it comes to electric N cars. Already for the Ioniq 5 there’s been a raft of factory accessories including carbon wheels, a wild Time Attack version for a Pikes Peak record, and a one-make race car for domestic motorsport. And the 5N was only launched last year. Now we’re into special edition territory, with Hyundai preparing something called a DK Edition for the Tokyo show later this week.
And this being a Hyundai N special, it’s not merely a light spruce-up to attract interest in the base model. Because DK stands for Drift King, and the Drift King is Keiichi Tsuchiya, the Japanese racer famous the world over for his oversteer skills. Having served as a consultant for Initial D and stunt driver for Tokyo Drift, it now appears that DK is lending his expertise to car development. Which is quite exciting - patently he’s not been brought in to aid efficiency or lift the interior ambience.
As a short teaser vid, there’s not a huge amount to glean about the DK Edition just yet, though there’s definitely a more aggressive bodykit than stock and some green accents that bring to mind the Drift King’s famous overalls. The wheels look new (and come with ‘DK Edition’ etched into them), the calipers get ‘N Performance’ branding, which would imply an upgrade, and there are carbon fibre endplates for that chunky rear spoiler. Looks brilliant on a Japanese plate too, of course. The real interest, however, will be in the changes implemented underneath for the DK Edition. So far it’s been suggested that it might include an adjustable N Drift Optimiser, for those very serious about going sideways. We’ll know for certain come Friday.
Now we await the usual barrage of.... 'its too heavy'....'I will never own an EV'....'You cant charge them anywhere'....and lets not forget the current flavor of the month.....'It will explode'...Over to you PH comments..
Now we await the usual barrage of.... 'its too heavy'....'I will never own an EV'....'You cant charge them anywhere'....and lets not forget the current flavor of the month.....'It will explode'...Over to you PH comments..
TX.
My answer would be: to push some boundaries and figure out what works in the Venn diagram of "personal transport", "fun" and "works with upcoming legislative and ecological frameworks".
We've been so focused as a community on what might be lost- gearchanges, noises, managing extra weight- that very few manufacturers have stopped to ask "What might be gained?"
I'm a bit cross that with packaging constraints freed up in some ways, no one's being braver yet. Where's are the torque vectoring monsters we hoped for? Why do things need to be arranged with the same seating plan and a cargo space behind? Can I have a 3-wheel sportster with a leaning body that corners better than an ICE car? Or a 6-wheel one? Is there a fun machine somewhere between a car and a motorcycle that this new tech can give birth to?
The luxury end is being well-served by high end models like the Rolls-Royce Spectre but the fun bit of the market is not.
Until we see more brave concepts, this is the boundary that's being pushed. For me, Hyundai are leading the charge on this. I can't wait to see what they might spin off the Kia EV3's platform. I want to see a thrilling Ionic 3N which learns from the lessons of models like this one.
Now we await the usual barrage of.... 'its too heavy'....'I will never own an EV'....'You cant charge them anywhere'....and lets not forget the current flavor of the month.....'It will explode'...Over to you PH comments..
TX.
Ah just read your's is 2022 so that boat has sailed. Nonetheless less there is clearly a leakage problem somewhere.
Now we await the usual barrage of.... 'its too heavy'....'I will never own an EV'....'You cant charge them anywhere'....and lets not forget the current flavor of the month.....'It will explode'...Over to you PH comments..
Doesn't mean that cars are not getting more and more like Elephants in every way tho.... New cars that ain't sport or supercars are just mostly gross now. Especially the EV's...
I'm chortling to myself at the thought of a worldwide conspiracy to manufacture, sell and review more and more EVs purely to wind Lee up.Now we await the usual barrage of.... 'its too heavy'....'I will never own an EV'....'You cant charge them anywhere'....and lets not forget the current flavor of the month.....'It will explode'...Over to you PH comments..
TX.
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