How Hyundai Motorsport Combines Performance and Sustainability With Electric Racing

Hyundai Motorsport will quickly take part within the inaugural all-electric touring automotive championship PURE ETCR, which is able to start later this 12 months. PURE ETCR will set the benchmark for electrical racing around the globe and speed up the transition to emissions-free mobility. Hyundai’s involvement marks the most recent step within the firm’s quest to make motorsport greener.

Hyundai Motorsport will compete in PURE ETCR with its new all-electric high-performance touring automotive, the Veloster N ETCR. It heralds an thrilling new period for Hyundai, which is able to see electrical racing change into one of many pillars of the corporate.

Alongside its electrification technique, Hyundai has additionally used its management in gasoline cell expertise to develop its hydrogen generator. This generator will be capable of cost electrical automobiles by means of changing inexperienced hydrogen into charging energy.

For Hyundai, motorsport is a discipline through which the corporate can experiment with new applied sciences, which might then inform the event of its manufacturing automobiles. Data switch between Hyundai Motorsport and the Hyundai N model has proved fruitful to date, with success in each the WRC and TCR championships in addition to well-received street automobiles just like the all-new i20 N.

“Hyundai is enterprise large efforts to develop sustainable mobility for a greater world, and motorsport just isn’t exempt from this objective. That’s why we’re very excited to have the chance to construct on our WRC and TCR success as a part of the upcoming PURE ETCR,” says Andrea Adamo, Hyundai Motorsport Staff Principal. “With our holistic method, we’re in a position to considerably scale back emissions in motorsport whereas making certain the spectacular sport we all know and love stays enjoyable, for drivers and followers alike.”

WRC and TCR: Hyundai’s motorsport heritage

Motorsport is an extension of Hyundai’s “efficiency” pillar. Regardless of being a contemporary participant on this discipline, the corporate has already made a mark. The Hyundai Motorsport staff fashioned in 2012, overseeing the institution of its Alzenau facility and the event of its first rally automotive, the i20 WRC. Hyundai Motorsport entered the FIA World Rally Championship for the primary time in 2014. After 5 profitable seasons laying the foundations for achievement, the staff gained the World Rally Championship for the primary time in 2019. This feat was efficiently repeated final 12 months, as Hyundai strengthened its fame in world motorsport.

After a profitable foray into WRC, Hyundai Motorsport entered the world of circuit racing in 2018 with the i30 N TCR. Gabriele Tarquini took the automotive to the highest of the inaugural WTCR standings in 2018. A 12 months later, Norbert Michelisz powered the i30 N TCR to its second consecutive championship.

Expertise switch between Hyundai Motorsport and Hyundai N

Hyundai Motorsport competes within the WRC with the i20 Coupe WRC, which relies on a highly-modified model of the Hyundai i20. Within the WTCR, the staff races with the i30 N TCR. This devoted touring automotive relies on the corporate’s first high-performance manufacturing mannequin, the i30 N. Each automobiles display how Hyundai’s road-going fashions function an optimum foundation for Hyundai Motorsport’s aggressive racing automobiles.

The i20 Coupe WRC is provided with a 1.6-litre turbocharged engine with direct injection, which is linked to a six-speed sequential transmission. It gives four-wheel drive and gives a most output of 380 PS, with 450 Nm of torque. As an extra signal of the corporate’s dedication to sustainability in its efficiency fashions, Hyundai Motorsport is at the moment growing a light hybrid powertrain for the i20 WRC. That is scheduled to launch in 2022, and it’s set to be the world’s first rally automotive with such expertise.

The i30 N TCR is powered by a two-litre turbocharged 4-cylinder inline engine, which is linked to a six-speed sequential gearbox. It options front-wheel drive and is fitted with a 100-litre gasoline tank. It gives a most output of 350 PS with 450 Nm of torque.

In addition to competing in WRC and TCR with fashions based mostly on road-going automobiles, Hyundai makes use of motorsport as a testing floor for brand spanking new applied sciences. This method has a direct affect on the corporate’s future N manufacturing fashions by means of data switch. For instance, the corporate’s newest racetrack-capable sizzling hatch, the all-new i20 N, is instantly influenced by the i20 WRC automotive. The all-new i20 N carries the identical weight because the minimal required in WRC and bears a rallying-inspired roof spoiler for enhanced aerodynamics.

Hyundai Motorsport Buyer Racing not too long ago unveiled the i20 N Rally2, an all-new rally automotive supposed for privateer groups and drivers. In one other instance of how Hyundai Motorsport and Hyundai N work collectively to reinforce their efficiency choices, the i20 N Rally2 automotive relies on the robust basis of the all-new i20 N’s chassis. The i20 N Rally2 builds on the dynamic look of the street automotive – a part of Hyundai’s new ‘Sensuous Sportiness’ identification – and contains a number of design components impressed by the world of motorsport.

The Veloster N ETCR – Hyundai’s first all-electric high-performance automobile

Forward of the PURE ETCR championship, Hyundai Motorsport’s engineers designed and constructed the corporate’s first all-electric high-performance automobile, the Veloster N ETCR, at its headquarters in Alzenau, Germany. Just like the i30 N TCR and i20 N Rally2, it’s based mostly on a highly-modified model of one other Hyundai N automotive, the North American Veloster N mannequin.

Testing on the Veloster N ETCR started with a prototype design in September 2019, which the staff continued to develop all through 2020. It’s a zero-emission, rear-wheel drive touring automotive with mid-mounted motors and designed particularly for ETCR laws. Outfitted with a 798-volt battery pack from Williams Superior Engineering positioned within the ground of the automotive and a double-wishbone rear suspension, the chassis is radically completely different from any earlier Hyundai Motorsport venture. It boasts a peak energy output of 500 kW (equal to 680 PS) and a steady energy of 300 kW. The Veloster N ETCR’s engine consists of 4 motors – two per wheel – that are linked to a single gear ratio gearbox.

The hydrogen-powered Hyundai Generator

PURE ETCR presents Hyundai with the chance to push its electrification programs to the restrict beneath probably the most excessive situations. Nonetheless, whereas high-performance is a key tenet for the corporate, additionally it is dedicated to creating the competitors, in addition to the way forward for motorsport and efficiency automobiles extra usually, as environmentally-friendly as doable. For Hyundai, this doesn’t cease with the zero-emission drivetrain. Reasonably, the entire ecosystem needs to be sustainable, from energy era to gasoline transport.

Hyundai will probably be providing its new hydrogen generator as a recharging system for electrical autos. The Hyundai Generator is the most recent function of emission-free electrical charging and consists of two gasoline cell stacks. First, the generator is crammed up utilizing tanks of compressed hydrogen. Contained in the gasoline cell stack, the hydrogen is uncovered to oxygen. The following chemical response generates power. This power is used to cost the batteries of the electrical touring autos. This fashion, members can make sure that the electrical energy used to cost the automobiles additionally comes from emissions-free, sustainable sources.

The Hyundai Generator permits two EVs to cost concurrently. In addition to that includes a high-speed charging functionality, it additionally gives considerably diminished noise ranges in comparison with a diesel generator. Past e-racing, Hyundai can be assured its hydrogen-powered generator has a variety of various potential use circumstances, equivalent to festivals, building websites and disaster conditions.

How electrical racing combines sustainability and efficiency

Electrical racing represents the right alternative for Hyundai to mix each environmental sustainability and motorsport, bringing collectively the model’s “progress” and “efficiency” pillars. Sooner or later, electrical racing is about to change into one of many core pillars of Hyundai Motorsport. ETCR showcases how future-oriented applied sciences and cleaner racing could be mixed.

Electrified motorsport can be a method for Hyundai to succeed in out to new goal teams. By growing an emissions-free touring automotive just like the Veloster N ETCR, the corporate is demonstrating the feasibility of high-performance EVs. These fashions could be eco-friendly, whereas on the similar time being enjoyable to drive.

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About Hyundai Motor Europe HQ

Hyundai Motor Europe HQ was formally established in 2000 with its fundamental workplace in Offenbach, Germany. It’s the regional headquarter accountable for over 40 markets with greater than 3,000 shops, taking a 3.6 per cent market share in 2020 (ACEA knowledge). 75 per cent of the autos Hyundai offered within the area are fashions designed, engineered, examined and in-built Europe to fulfill the wants of European clients, served by the corporate’s intensive European infrastructure. This contains two factories primarily serving Europe: within the Czech Republic and Turkey.

As of January 2021, Hyundai has one of many youngest product ranges of any producer, with nearly all fashions youthful than 1 ½ years outdated. Greater than 75 per cent of Hyundai’s line-up in Europe is now accessible as an electrified model, and the corporate plans to impress its whole European line-up by 2025. Moreover, Hyundai is a pioneer in zero-emission mobility, together with its fully-electric subcompact SUV KONA Electrical, its second-generation gasoline cell electrical automobile NEXO, and the soon-to-be launched battery-electric IONIQ 5, the primary mannequin in its new IONIQ line-up model.

Hyundai gives its distinctive 5 Yr Limitless Mileage Guarantee bundle with all new automobiles offered within the area, offering clients with a five-year guarantee with no mileage restrict, 5 years of roadside help and 5 years of car well being checks.

Extra details about Hyundai Motor Europe HQ and its merchandise is accessible at www.hyundai.news.

Comply with Hyundai Motor Europe HQ on Twitter @HyundaiEurope and Instagram @hyundainews