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• A top executive at Hyundai says he’s for developing a production version of the N Vision 74 concept.
• The concept was first shown at the Los Angeles Auto Show last November.
• Everywhere it goes, the reaction is the same: bring on a production model.
At the Los Angeles Auto Show in November, and then again at the Toronto Auto Show just recently, Hyundai presented the second member of its all-electric Ioniq family, the Ioniq 6 sedan. However, despite the car's dramatic silhouette, it didn't steal the show at the Hyundai kiosk.
That’s because it was competing with the N Vision 74 concept. Designed as a nod to the 1974 Pony Coupe concept that inspired the DeLorean, the new incarnation has been the subject of much discussion. The coupe, complete with a hydrogen-fueled powertrain, has wowed a lot of people.
In Los Angeles, there was no talk of the concept making it to a production model. However, things are slowly changing.
At the recent Toronto Auto Show, where the concept made its Canadian debut, the reaction was the same. And this time, an exchange between a reporter for the Autopian outlet and Till Wartenberg, Hyundai's vice president of N-brand management and motorsports, yielded something interesting.
That exchange actually involved Wartenberg asking the reporter a question. Namely, how much would he be willing to pay for a production version of the N Vision 74? Let's say that opens a door. The executive followed that with this: “My personal wish is to produce this vehicle. It’s at first probably an investment, but if we could see this vehicle really out there and people buying it, I would be very happy.”
Obviously, this is all just talk for now, but the company clearly doesn't seem to be closed to the idea.
We’ve seen it happen before of course: positive response by journalists and by the public forces auto company executives to at least discuss possibilities. If the model had not generated such interest, that would have been the end of it.
There are lessons to be learned from all this for manufacturers. In an age when new vehicles are increasingly homogenous, the appearance of something original and exciting like the N Vision 74 causes all sorts of excitement. There’s a hunger for bold designs.
The N Vision 74 is rated for 670 hp and over 664 lb-ft of torque. It has a 62.4-kWh battery and a 4.2 kg hydrogen tank with an 85-kW fuel cell to generate electricity.
If the project does move forward, it remains to be seen what other powertrain options enter the discussion - hydrogen alone would not be enough.
