The Hyundai Ioniq 5 lineup will grow next year with the introduction of the N performance model. We don’t know everything about it yet, but a new interview from Drive.com.au with Hyundai’s executive technical adviser Albert Biermann provides a few details about the upcoming electric crossover.

The Hyundai Ioniq 5 N will ride on the automaker’s E-GMP architecture that also underpins the Kia EV6 GT, which produces 577 bhp (430 kilowatts) from its dual-motor, all-wheel-drive setup. Biermann didn’t divulge the Hyundai’s output, but he did say that it would be around 591 bhp (441 kW), suggesting it could be as high as 612 bhp (456 kW) or as low as 573 bhp (427 kW). However, Hyundai hasn’t finalised its output yet. 

Gallery: Hyundai Ioniq 5 N rendering by Motor1.com

Either way, it’ll be much faster than the Hyundai i30N, which needs 5.5 seconds to reach 62 miles per hour (100 kilometres per hour). The EV6 GT does it in 3.5 seconds, but that’s the easy part. The driving experience will be about how big a smile the car puts on drivers’ faces.

Biermann also revealed that the Hyundai crossover would also arrive with a Drift Mode, capable of sending most of the car’s power to the rear wheels for increased fun. While the EV will feature regenerative braking, Hyundai plans to install “strong friction brakes,” too. According to Biermann, the Ioniq 5 N will have to pass its Nurburgring tests designed for Hyundai’s N models.

The crossover should receive unique styling, which Hyundai has kept hidden on the test vehicles our spy photographers have spotted over the last several months. The N will sport a unique front bumper to differentiate it from its non-N sibling. There’s a roof spoiler at the back, and the model could get new taillight graphics. The car should come packing Hyundai’s larger 77.4-kilowatt-hour battery pack.

Hyundai announced that it would reveal the Ioniq 5 N in 2023. We don’t know when that will be, but we hope it’s early in the year, so there’s an increased chance that the car could hit the market before 2024. Nothing is for sure, but we hope to learn more about the EV in the months leading up to the reveal.