Hyundai Motor Company has decided on ‘Velaster N’ to be the first model for high-performance lineup called ‘N’ to be introduced in South Korean market. Hyundai Motor Company is going to release 2nd generation Velaster in global markets during second half of this year and release ‘Velaster N’ in South Korea next year. However it has decided not to release its first high-performance model called ‘i30 N’ in South Korean market.
According to Hyundai Motor Company on the 14th, it is going to release 2nd generation Velaster (Project name: JS) with basic specifications and ‘Velaster N’ in second half of this year and next year respectively. Velater is a asymmetric ‘2+1 door’-type sports hatchback and its 2nd generation model will also maintain same shape.
Hyundai Motor Company is going to introduce ‘N’, which is composed of C segment hatchbacks such as i30 and Velaster, to markets for the first time. Because it has decided to produce entire production of i30N in Czech Republic, it is impossible to release in South Korea. This is because Hyundai Motor Company’s labor and management agreed not to release cars that are produced overseas in South Korean market. It is likely that only Velaster N will be seen in South Korea.
Velaster N shares same platform and power train with i30 N. Technical skills of i30 N, which was able to complete ‘ADAC Qualification Race 24h’ that was recently held in Nurburgring Circuit, are also applied to Velaster N.
Velaster N has 2.0-liter gasoline turbo engine and is divided into a basic model with 250 horsepower and a performance model with 275 horsepower depending on setting. It is also equipped with 6-speed manual transmission which is applied with ‘Rev Matching’ system that controls number of rotation of an engine. One can also select 8-speed wet dual clutch transmission.
It seems that Velaster N will have stronger impression than 2nd generation Velaster. Velaster N will have cascading grille and full LED headlights and body-kit that maximizes aerodynamics. Although it will maintain an exhaust pipe at the center, size and shape of an exhaust pipe will change in order to emphasize an image of high performance.
Hyundai Motor Company is going to introduce Velaster N in South Korean market first next year and release it in North American market in the future.
After selling 10,946 Velasters in 2011, which was the year when Velaster was first released, sales volumes of Velaster reduced rapidly every year. Because only 42 Velasters were sold until April of this year, it is inevitable that average monthly sales volume of Velaster in this year will only be about 10.
Hyundai Motor Company is planning to go after North American market as the major market for Velaster. Its strategy is to continue potential of Velaster as it was able to sell about 30,000 Velasters yearly in North America. It is going to focus on marketing of ‘N’ lineup by differentiating Velaster N with current models in order to compete against other high-performance hot hatchbacks such as Volkswagen’s ‘Golf GTI’, Ford’s ‘Focus RS’, and Honda’s ‘Civic Type R’.
“Velaster N will be the start of a high-performance lineup and will be a great alternative to customers in South Korea that have been waiting for i30 N.” said a representative for Hyundai Motor Company. “Its power does not fall behind of any other high-performance hot hatchbacks from Europe and Japan and one will be able to enjoy its high performance at a reasonable price as it is applied with technical skills that are verified in Nurburgring.”
Staff Reporter Ryu, Jongeun | rje312@etnews.com