Why hydrogen is more important to Hyundai N than you might think

You could think that the spectacular Hyundai N Vision 74 sports coupe concept is just a retro-futuristic model that will never see the light of day… and while that might be partly true, the brand is serious about what powers the wedge-shaped two-door.

The N Vision 74 runs a fuel-cell powertrain - put hydrogen in, the fuel-cell stack turns it into electricity (with water being the only byproduct), and the car blasts towards the horizon thanks to twin electric motors on the rear axle.

The technicalities of the powertrain are immense - there’s a lot going on here. But the company is also working on a simpler solution with hydrogen power, that being using traditional internal combustion engines to run the zero-tailpipe-emission fuel.

Other brands are toying with the notion of powering their cars on hydrogen fuel, too. And indeed, Hyundai has the Nexo fuel-cell electric SUV on the market both in Korea and worldwide (there are about 20 on government fleets in Australia, too).

Till Wartenberg, vice-president and head of brand management for Hyundai N, spoke with CarsGuide at an event in Korea last week, telling us the brand sees hydrogen as a viable future powertrain option for the company, be it fuel-cell or being used by internal combustion engines (ICE). 

“If there will be hydrogen-fuelled ICE engines, we will be seeing,” he said. “Europe has decided against it for now, but I don’t think we have the final answer.

“I think the future is quite colourful,” said Mr Wartenberg, also explaining that the company isn’t going to abandon petrol-powered engines for current or future N products.

“Honestly right now we’re focusing on our production models, and with hydrogen [the focus is] the Nexo, and the follow-up of the Nexo, but we don’t exclude anything - that’s why we do have the ‘rolling lab’,” he said of the N Vision 74.

The brand showcased a number of N models that have lead to this point in its trajectory, including the original N concept car - the hydrogen-powered N Vision 2025 Gran Turismo racer.

To then roll out the N Vision 74 with hydrogen power, it seemed the question needed to be asked - will Hyundai have a hydrogen N car by 2025? Mr Wartenberg said that won’t be the case.

“If this is going to be 2025 - there’s no plans for that year,” he said. “But hydrogen will be, for high performance, very relevant. If you think about endurance, durability, we have to think about hydrogen. It answers some questions [that electric cars can’t],” he said. 

And it could well be that we will see hybrid petrol-electric N models joining the ranks, too.

“We will alter our fans, our enthusiasts, and offer them some sort of car which they can have for that transition period [to electric and electrified cars],” Mr Wartenberg said, indicating that the timeline of petrol, hybrid, electric, hydrogen could be the most logical trajectory for the brand.