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Performance-oriented Hyundai EV, Kia EV Incoming With Help From Rimac

TurboTim
3 Min Read
After 10 percent of Rimac was bought by Porsche in June 2018, the Croatian company joined hands with the Hyundai Motor Group. The South Koreans pledged investments that total 80 million euros, and a small part of that sum (16 million) will come from Kia Motors. The flip side is that Hyundai and Kia both confirmed the development of two high-performance electric vehicles with the help of Rimac Automobili.

Performance-oriented Hyundai EV, Kia EV Incoming With Help From Rimac

Care to guess how those EVs will look like? The three parties “will work closely together to develop an electric version of the N mid-engine sports car and a high-performance FCEV.” Now that’s an ambitious undertaking, more so if you remember for how long Hyundai was rumored to come out with a flagship sports car with the engine in the middle.

The development of a fuel cell electric vehicle comes as an even bigger surprise, but on the other hand, don’t forget that Hyundai Motor Group has experience with this type of vehicle thanks to the Tucson and Nexo. “Rimac is an innovative company with outstanding capabilities in high-performance electric vehicles,” said Euisun Chung, executive vice chairman of Hyundai.

“We believe that this technology partnership will create maximum value for our companies and their customers,” added Mate Rimac, the founder and chief executive officer of Rimac. “We see a strong investor and technology partner in Hyundai Motor Group and believe that this collaboration will charge the company’s position as a tier-1 electrification components supplier to the industry.”

Last time we’ve heard anything on the mid-engine sports car, hearsay suggested that Hyundai is working on the Theta III engine for this application and plenty more models. Be it front- or all-wheel drive, the next-generation engine family is expected in three flavors and two displacements. The 2.3 turbo promises to be the pick of the bunch, and the mid-engine Hyundai would be the perfect candidate for this 350-hp engine.

With 2.5 liters of displacement, the Theta III is supposed to develop up to 300 horsepower in rear-wheel-drive models. Over in South Korea, the local media expects the Sonata N to arrive in March 2020 with the 2.5 T-GDi of the Theta III family and all-wheel drive.

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