Nobody could accuse Hyundai of half-measures when it comes to electric N cars. Already for the Ioniq 5 there’s been a raft of factory accessories including carbon wheels, a wild Time Attack version for a Pikes Peak record, and a one-make race car for domestic motorsport. And the 5N was only launched last year. Now we’re into special edition territory, with Hyundai preparing something called a DK Edition for the Tokyo show later this week.
And this being a Hyundai N special, it’s not merely a light spruce-up to attract interest in the base model. Because DK stands for Drift King, and the Drift King is Keiichi Tsuchiya, the Japanese racer famous the world over for his oversteer skills. Having served as a consultant for Initial D and stunt driver for Tokyo Drift, it now appears that DK is lending his expertise to car development. Which is quite exciting - patently he’s not been brought in to aid efficiency or lift the interior ambience.
As a short teaser vid, there’s not a huge amount to glean about the DK Edition just yet, though there’s definitely a more aggressive bodykit than stock and some green accents that bring to mind the Drift King’s famous overalls. The wheels look new (and come with ‘DK Edition’ etched into them), the calipers get ‘N Performance’ branding, which would imply an upgrade, and there are carbon fibre endplates for that chunky rear spoiler. Looks brilliant on a Japanese plate too, of course. The real interest, however, will be in the changes implemented underneath for the DK Edition. So far it’s been suggested that it might include an adjustable N Drift Optimiser, for those very serious about going sideways. We’ll know for certain come Friday.
