New Hyundai i30 N Drive-N limited edition arrives with a price tag of £38,190

• 800 examples to be built - 75 for UK
• Bronze and red accents
• Unique plaque with build number

The Hyundai i30 N has been tweaked in a new special edition to be called the Hyundai i30 N Drive-N. The This is the ultimate Hyundai i30 and can be spotted by bronze wheels, exclusive livery, and red trim and will cost £38,190.

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Only 75 of the planned 800 examples of the Drive-N will be allocated to the UK car market; 545 will be reserved for the remainder of Europe and a further 180 for Australia. Pricing is yet to be confirmed, but we expect the special edition to cost slightly more than the standard i30 N when it goes on sale later this year. The standard i30 N currently starts at a whisker over £34,000.

To distinguish the Drive-N model from the regular i30 N, the limited-run car will feature a model-specific bronze and red graphic along the door panel. The Drive-N will also adopt a matching set of bronze 19-inch alloy wheels and will be available in two colours: Phantom Black Pearl and the new Serenity White Pearl.

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Further design tweaks continue on the inside where the Drive-N gets sporty Alcantara upholstery; this extends onto the steering wheel, the gear lever, the handbrake and the armrest. The black Alcantara is contrasted by red stitching and red drive select buttons on the steering wheel. The Drive-N also boasts red seat belts, and just like the regular i30 N, the ‘N’ logo on the headrests illuminates.

Each example of the i30 N Drive-N will be fitted with a plaque which states the car’s build number. Several Drive-N badges mounted around the car will also further enhance the exclusivity of this model, with each badge containing the coordinates for Hyundai’s high-performance test centre at the Nurburgring race track, Germany.

What does this mean for car buyers?

Hyundai put a marker down with the i30 N showing that it was intent on building a serious competitor to the established hot hatchbacks from Europe and Japan. Since its release it has gained strong approval ratings and is one our favourite hot hatchbacks. The Drive-N model was created for those wanting the ultimate version of the vehicle or collectors keen on holding onto a limited example. However, there are no performance gains from the special edition and so the exclusivity is achieved through design tweaks that cannot be optioned on the standard model.

Hyundai has been on a roll recently when it comes to affordable performance cars; the original i30 N was a seriously impressive first attempt at a hot hatch and solidified its place as a strong rival to the Volkswagen Golf GTI. The smaller Hyundai i20 N is equally as masterful, with the fizzy supermini earning our Hot Hatch of the Year award for 2022.

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