Hyundai teases the NPX1 concept for the Tokyo Auto Salon

In December, when Hyundai hosted its N Festival in its home market, Car Scene Korea got pictures of an automaker presentation about future racing activities. The big splash was a rendering of an electric race car based on the Ioniq 5 called the eN1 Cup Car. It went far beyond the Ioniq 5 N, boosting the production car’s Speed Racer good times with Speed Racer looks. There were a giant pair of front intakes above an ankle-slicing splitter, a widebody kit with flared arches and side sill extensions, and a whopping rear wing. Hyundai’s N Performance division just teased something for the Tokyo Auto Salon that begins tomorrow, and by golly it looks an awful lot like the eN1 Cup Car. The name for the show car for now is the NPX1, which, seeing how Hyundai Group brands often use “X” to represent a concept, we’ll guess can be parsed into N Performance Concept 1.

If this is a race-ready version of the eN1, we might have gotten a preview of what’s coming. At the N Festival presentation, details on the eN1 Cup Car outlined a weight reduction of up to 551 pounds compared to the retail Ioniq 5 N thanks to measures like a stripped-out interior and polycarbonate windows. An adjustable suspension with pillow ball bushings would lower the body as much as 2.1 inches over 18-inch wheels wearing 280/60 racing slicks, those wheels hiding six-piston brake calipers in front and four-piston in the rear. There’d be extra protection for the battery pack as well as the usual FIA safety measures like a six-point roll-cage, and pit-crew convenience tweaks like an air lift jack. As part of a one-make series, teams would create their own race car sounds. In the finals, drivers would be required to use the N e-shift system, and for passing could use the “NGB” button — shorthand for N Grin Boost — to briefly increase output. 

The changes not related to an electric powertrain sound like those reportedly planned for the new Elantra N Cup Car. Furthermore, reports say Hyundai’s targeting a testing campaign for the eN1 Cup Car that begins in May, around the same time as the Elantra N Cup Car hits the track. In the Elantra report, automaker execs spoke of wanting to expand the series to Europe and the U.S., we wouldn’t be surprised at some demo runs at the least before the year is out.

The NPX1 video is also tagged with #NPerformanceParts, so there’ll definitely be something for us. Hyundai took a prototype Dymag carbon fiber wheel to Goodwood last summer, then showed the refreshed Tucson N in December with lightweight wheels and carbon fiber center caps.      

The Tokyo Auto Salon begins tomorrow, stay tuned.