Remember when Hyundai N VP Till Wartenberg asked us what we would pay for the 670 horsepower, hydrogen-electric Hyundai N Vision 74 if it were produced? It turns out, there may have been a very good reason for that question. Back in February, Wartenberg told The Autopian, “My personal wish is to produce this vehicle,” and a report from Korea suggests his wish may soon be granted.
If Google Translate is to be trusted, Korean outlet Money Today reports that Hyundai is planning a “Pony Day” at its design studio on May 27, which doesn’t sound like it’ll include guest appearances by cowboys. Instead, it’s expected to be the debut event for a production-spec N Vision 74, allegedly called Pony Coupe.
The Pony Coupe name is entirely fitting considering the N Vision 74 is based on Giugiaro’s design for the original Hyundai Pony Coupe Concept, but also very brave. As everyone on here probably already knows, I’m Canadian, so I’m familiar with seeing Hyundai Ponys being duct-taped together for amusing purposes. Cue the Red Green Show.
This is how many Canadians remember the Pony, as a rapidly-depreciating cheap car that was largely disposable. Sure, it was rear-wheel-drive, powered by a Mitsubishi engine, and very loosely based on lessons Hyundai learned building Ford Cortinas, but don’t think it had wild sporting credentials. This was a car from a fledgling automaker that unfortunately ended up the butt of many jokes.
But in this context, a new Pony Coupe would be like a kid getting absolutely jacked and mastering the Fist of the North Star just to pummel his middle school bullies some 30 years on, and there’s something entertaining about that.
See, the N Vision 74 is, um, brisk. Not only is each rear wheel powered by an electric motor, but there’s also a hydrogen fuel cell stack on board to ram more electricity to the motors under spirited use. Combined output stands at 671 horsepower and 664 lb.-ft. of torque, and it doesn’t take a physicist to know power like that can really make a car move. I wouldn’t be surprised if a production-spec model ditches the hydrogen stack since it’s of limited use outside of locales like California, but electric torque still sounds promising.
In addition to being quick, the N Vision 74 is also gorgeous. I know, I know, pandering to borrowed nostalgia for the ‘80s is going to be passé at some point, but many enthusiasts have soft spots for Giugiaro’s folded paper design language, and not just the soft spot affected by being dropped on your head as a child.
In an age of ever-gaping grilles, beehive-busy character lines, and acres of faux-rugged plastic cladding, a certain yearning for simplicity has emerged. Perhaps a production-spec Pony Coupe can help scratch that itch.
As it stands, we have no idea what would underpin a new Pony Coupe, how quick one would be, or what one would cost. We don’t even know if it will actually exist. However, if this report turns out to be true, we may see a fresh new sports coupe soon.
It’s also worth noting that a production-spec Pony Coupe likely wouldn’t be as visually-aggressive as the N Vision 74 as concept cars just don’t need to follow certain production car rules.
(Photo credits: Thomas Hundal)
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Hopefully they don’t use the Pony name again in the UK – The original rather suited the name where, in rhyming slang, Pony = pony & trap = crap
I wouldn’t get too excited. I have it on good authority that “Pony Day” will just be a Korean BronyCon.
I really wish Honda, Toyota, Subaru, Mazda, or really any number of other car makers would steal the designers at Hyundai/Kia. Their designs deserve better than those brands.
I genuinely hope it:
Please, Hyundai. Please make it happen.
Child labor in Georgia, though? Game on!
“Preferably less than 3500?” How did we get here? SMH. My metric for a lightweight sporting car is 2700-2800 lb. range based on the FD RX-7. Any more and they really didn’t try. Today’s cars are way to heavy to really be considered sporting. Sure they may be fast, but not for me and a great mountain road. My fun car will always have to be something older. Maybe a 1500lb Elan will be next, perhaps with a k-swap it’ll end up around 1600.
Just being realistic. I’d love this thing to be under 3000lb but many sporting cars these days are heavy.
Just kinda scrolled through to say…..
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no it won’t.
This car is awesome, Hyundai is killing it recently especially with Genesis, and I hope this happens for real
As someone who still drives a Pony… this is rather exciting.
While I love the design….I’m absolutely MEH over it possibly only being an EV… Blah blah blah, I’m sure I’ll get jumped on like a gang initiation….but if it isn’t spewing hydrocarbons from dinosaurs….I don’t want it…
I’d wait to poo poo it until we get more info. The concept utilizes hydrogen to supplement the electric motors. There’s a chance the production car could use an ICE powertrain to do similar…a la a BMW i8 or something like that.
I’ll poo poo it now, EV or not because, like everything else these days, I am sure it will be vastly beyond most people’s price ranges anyway 🙁
It’s a Hyundai. It’ll be fairly affordable but a nightmare when it comes to reliability and dealing with Hyundai to fix it…
I mean there have been rumors of an N badged dedicated performance car floating around for years. This concept received almost universal praise, and the ICE N cars have been nearly universally praised by the automotive press. I’m not sure how well that’s translating sales wise…as I said in the morning dump comments tons of Kona Ns are currently sitting on dealer lots with money on their hoods and I have only encountered a handful of Elantra Ns in the wild….not to mention they’ve already rolled out a dramatic mid cycle refresh for that model.
BUT…perhaps the combination of a vehicle like this and the goodwill the N division has cooked up over the last 5 years might be enough to elevate the brand to the next level. It’s certainly worth a try and Kia/Hyundai/Genesis have more or less grown their brands exponentially in recent years by taking risks. Their decision to hop on the EV bandwagon early is currently paying dividends and their market share in a lot of very competitive classes has increased…largely due to their outside the box designs and their ability to implement modern technology in a way that’s intuitive and useful. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that Hyundai/Kia have the best tech out of all the “normal” brands
This would more or less be a stab at a halo car, and I think the time is right for it. As an N owner I’m obviously thrilled and am excited to see what the final production car will be. Obviously I don’t think it’ll involve hydrogen…but will it be a full EV? Perhaps a hybrid performance car? It’s hard to overstate how good of a powertrain the N 4 cylinder is and obviously they could borrow the 3.5 liter turbo 6 from Genesis, which is a potent engine. Combine either with multiple electric motors and you’re looking at serious power. I’d also add that the VW/JDM fanboys who opine that they won’t drive a Hyundai because of the lack of heritage are keeping up with rallying or TCR…because Hyundai has been taking these cars racing for years and taking home hardware.
Alright I’ll stop now. I bother you all with my love for the N division enough…but regardless of what you think of them as a brand Hyundai is one of the only companies left that’s actually listening to enthusiasts and going out of their way to make attainable cars for us. This probably won’t be particularly affordable if it’s actually happening, but it doesn’t really matter. It would be a halo car, and halo cars are about driving up enthusiasm for a brand. Having some wild N sports car in a show room would absolutely get more people interested in buying an Elantra N or Ioniq N of some form.
Yes, but the IRA is going to slam the brakes on a good amount of this. If we don’t see this car hit production, we can almost directly point to the IRA and its requirements
“but regardless of what you think of them as a brand Hyundai is one of the only companies left that’s actually listening to enthusiasts and going out of their way to make attainable cars for us.”
THIS. I bought a Sonata N-Line because after driving an Elantra N and then a Sonata N-Line, it became clear to me that Hyundai is catering to enthusiasts, has car crazy engineers, and deserved my business.
If I were you I’d be looking at an aftermarket LSD for the Sonata N Line. That 2.5 liter turbo 4/DCT is a great combo but for some reason you can’t option a limited slip diff on them and it seems like the general consensus is they’re a differential away from greatness. Either way, welcome to the N family. Hope you’re having as much fun as I am.
This thing looks absolutely incredible. Unfortunately, I have a toddler, which means I’m likely out of luck.
It’s just so good looking
This is the most attractive concept car I’ve seen in a lonngggggggggggggggggg time. If they build it and price it competitively, I can see it being a gigantic success, regardless of drivetrain.
Not going to lie I’m hoping it retains the electric motors and uses an ICE powertrain in place of the hydrogen one.
Let’s just assume that it will be based on the EGMP platform from the Ioniq 5/6/EV6/GV70, now would they have the balls to put a Pony badge on an EV performance coupe sold in America to compete against the Mustang?
There might be a trademark issue. Ford used the Pony name for the base model Escort in the late 80’s/early 90’s. I’m not sure how long a trademark needs to be dormant before someone else can swoop in and steal it.
https://www.mecum.com/lots/506473/1991-ford-escort-pony-hatchback/
Ford used the Pony Package recently on Mustangs.
I’m not so sure – ‘Pony’ was a classification of a type of car that Ford sort of went with a little more than the other manufacturers did. They were more sporty and compact than the muscle cars of the era.
The Mustang was obviously the car that is most associated with the class, but other Pony cars include the Chevrolet Corvair, Plymouth Barracuda, Chevrolet Camaro.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pony_car
I mean…if they’re going to do it the time is now. The Camaro was issued a stay of execution and Stellantis seems to confused about what their direction with the Charger and Challenger is going to be. They debuted the ridiculous EV Challenger concept but now there’s a ton of conflicting information out there about potential ICE powertrains more or less being on hold but not ruled out.
If this thing is more or less ready to go behind the scenes there’s a gap to be filled in the market.
The Camaro has not been given a stay of execution. They will probably bring the name back for an EV, but the odds of it being a proper sporty coupe are slim because the sales of coupes are just not there anymore. The rumors of the internal combustion Charger have only come from unnamed dealership employees, which are the least reliable sources of information ever. If anything the Charger Daytona Coupe Concept will become the Charger EV Sedan.
Hard to imagine them actually using the Pony name here in the States. For the same reason that Datsun didn’t use Fairlady and Bluebird in the 70s. I would argue that to the average American, pony’s are typically thought of as silly little creatures you have for little girl princess parties. Not an image that moves powerful sports cars. If I were in their marketing department, I would recommend a different name. Much I as I dislike alpha numerics typically, I think even calling the N74 would do better than Pony here, but I think there are far better name options.