HYUNDAI’S new performance car boss, Albert Biermann, has opened up the future of the brand’s N-Division and dropped some tasty hints about its first model, the i30 N.

For a start, it’s a definite goer. The i30N will be launched next year as the first model from Hyundai’s new performance sub-brand. Although Biermann didn’t tell us much in the way of specs, we can tell you that the car will be based on the next-gen Hyundai i30 and has been built alongside it, is powered by a 2.0-litre turbocharged four and that at least some versions will have an electronically controlled limited slip differential and electronically controlled adaptive dampers. It will be launched with a manual gearbox – the brand raced a prototype car at the Nurburgring 24 Hour last weekend with a ’stick – but Biermann also confirmed that an automatic option is under development, almost certainly a twin-clutcher.

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There are no numbers on the turbo donk, but Hyundai showed us a video of it being dyno tested with numbers going up to 264PS (197kW), which we’re taking to be a minimum. Biermann also showed us the underside of the prototype, although we weren’t allowed to take pictures of it, showing that it has both beefed-up suspension and also some structural reinforcement pieces. “We are very serious about this, it is not just about the output,” he said, adding later that “if you look at the data our car will not look like the winner [compared to rivals], but when you drive it you will feel how serious we are.”

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We’ll find out more closer to the N’s launch next year.