The 641bhp Hyundai Ioniq 6 N Is Here, And You Can Properly Drift It

We love the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N at Car Throttle. Last year, we named it the first truly great performance EV and even brought it along to our annual Car of the Year showdown. To say we’ve been waiting with great intrigue for the next electric N would be an understatement.

Now, it’s here. Meet the Hyundai Ioniq 6 N, probably our next favourite electric car.

The numbers make for familiar reading. It utilises the same dual-motor, all-wheel drive setup as the 5 N, offering up a peak 641bhp and 568lb ft of torque. That power continues to be drawn from an 84kWh battery pack, too.

Thanks to a bit of weight saving (Hyundai doesn’t specify official figures for the 5 N or 6 N, but we think around 50kg lighter) and new 6 N-specific Pirelli P Zeros, the saloon is quicker than the SUV by two tenths, cracking 0-62mph in 3.2 seconds. It does have a lower top speed, however, at 153mph compared with the 5’s 162mph.

That is despite a better drag coefficient, the 6 N coming in at 0.274Cd to the 5 N’s 0.313. Although that figure does enable a better range, allowing a quoted 291 miles on a charge, a rise of 13 miles over its boxier sibling.

Still with us after that numbers overload? Good, because now we can tell you about the real changes to the 6 N.

It’d have been fair to assume this would’ve simply seen the mechanical gubbins of the 5 N transplanted into the 6, but it’s much more than that.

There’s a fully reworked suspension setup for a start, with fresh tuning for the adaptive dampers and geometry adjusted for a more track-biased setup. There’s now also 11-way adjustable torque distribution on both axles, having only been on the rear on the 5 N. It maintains the rear limited-slip differential, too.

Also maintained are the 400mm front and 360mm rear brake discs, despite the wheels having to come in an inch smaller at 20 inches in diameter to fit on the 6.

All of the software trickery that makes the 5 N so great is here here too, albeit with some key changes. N Drift Optimiser gets the biggest tweaks, now offering three different adjustable parameters for initiation, angle and wheelspin rather than simply one sliding scale, which should give you better control over your skids.

Also tweaked is the e-Shift system, which simulates an eight-speed torque dual-clutch gearbox. That now also works in drift mode, and features shorter virtual ratios than before in customer response to make more use of the faux gear changes. There’s also a new ‘motorsport’ sound which we’re led to believe closely replicates the engine note you’d hear on a Hyundai TCR race car.

We haven’t even come to the bits that separate the Hyundai Ioniq 6 N from the regular versions of the already wacky-looking saloon. Biggest – perhaps literally – is the gigantic swan-neck rear wing on the back, which both looks cool and serves to generate downforce.

There are also functional changes to the front bumper, now with dams channelling air over to the extended side skirts, while the rear bumper gets ducts to reduce air pressure in the wheel arches. Oh, and of course, you can have it in Performance Blue, which is now pearlescent rather than gloss as on every other N car to date.

Inside, the 6 N gets front sports seats with illuminated N logos below the headrests, the steering wheel from the 5 N, and ambient lighting which can be used as a shift light. Yep, we’re sold.

No word on pricing yet for the Hyundai Ioniq 6 N, but don’t be shocked if it sees an uplift over the 5 N’s £65k asking price. It’ll go on sale early 2026, but if you happen to be at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this weekend, you’ll be able to see it run up the hill.