No one can accuse Hyundai of taking half measures when it comes to N electric cars. For the Ioniq 5 already, there is a host of factory accessories including carbon wheels, a Wild Time Attack version of the Pikes Peak record, and a one-make race car for local motorsport . The 5N was launched only last year. We’re now in special edition territory, with Hyundai preparing something called the DK Edition for the Tokyo show later this week.
Since this is a special Hyundai N car, it’s not just a light facelift to draw interest in the base model. Because DK stands for Drift King, and Drift King is Keiichi T suchiya, the Japanese racer famous around the world for his oversteering skills. Having worked as a consultant for Primary D and a stunt driver for Tokyo Drift, DK now appears to be lending his expertise to car development. Which is very interesting – it was clearly not brought in to aid efficiency or elevate the interior ambiance.
As a short teaser videoThere’s not a huge amount of information about the DK version yet, although there is a more aggressive body kit than stock and some green accents reminiscent of the famous Drift King livery. The wheels look new (and come with “DK Edition” etched into them), the calipers have “N Performance” branding, which means an upgrade, and there are carbon fiber end panels for that chunky rear spoiler. It looks great on a Japanese plate too of course. However, the real interest will be in the changes implemented below for the DK version. It has so far been suggested that it might include an adjustable N Drift Optimiser, for those who are very serious about moving sideways. We’ll know for sure come Friday.