Hyundai Motor Co. has been recognized for its innovative design by winning six top honors at the 2023 Good Design Awards, selected through a collaboration of The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design in Chicago, IL, and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies in Europe. The wins included four in the Transportation category: N Vision 74, Ioniq 6, Grandeur (Azera), and Kona. In particular, the N Vision 74 high-performance hydrogen hybrid achieved a “grand slam” by winning all four major global design awards—iF, IDEA, Red Dot, in addition to Good Design.
The Good Design Awards, which were founded in Chicago in 1950 by Eero Saarinen and Charles and Ray Eames, are the oldest in the world. They determine award-winning works in many fields based on evaluations for the highest aesthetic in terms of innovative design, new technologies, form, materials, construction, concept, function, utility and energy efficiency, and sensitivity to the environment.
“N Vision 74 is a tribute to our past efforts and a declaration of our future, carrying forward the bold spirit of the Pony Coupe Concept into a futuristic design that realizes the dream of our engineers to create Korea’s first sports car,” said SangYup Lee, Executive Vice President and Head of Hyundai Global Design Center, at its introduction in 2022 at the LA Auto Show. “With N Vision 74, we are building on the heritage of Hyundai and strengthening the brand identity.”
The concept revealed Hyundai’s N sub-brand electrification vision, the “rolling lab” concept being a testbed of future technologies aimed at “the highest level of emotional involvement for the driver.” The strategic approach allowed the N brand to experiment with the most advanced technologies from both motorsport and production car development. The work resulted in the high-performance version of Hyundai Motor Co.’s Ioniq 5 EV (electric vehicle), which made its world premiere at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in West Sussex, England in July.
Although hydrogen fuel-cell power was initially regarded as a dream, the N Vision 74 represented seven years of technological development and the N brand’s commitment to deliver an optimistic future for car enthusiasts, regardless of propulsion type. The concept pays homage to the Hyundai Pony Coupe concept from the 1974 Turin Motor Show, developed by legendary car designer Giorgetto Giugiaro. It inherited its pure surfaces, dynamically proportioned profile, and unique B-pillar from the 1974 concept. The rectangular headlamps and rear lamps of the Pony Coupe concept have been reinterpreted with parametric pixel design, the brand’s latest design identity.
Motorsport-inspired details have been added, in particular the side intake, huge rear wing, and dynamic volume fenders hint at its robust high performance. In addition, a front splitter and a rear diffuser enhance aerodynamic performance suitable for a high-performance car.
The vehicle is 195.0 in (4953 mm) long, 78.5 in (1994 mm) wide, and 52.4 in (1330 mm) tall on a 114.4-in (2905-mm) wheelbase. The rear-wheel-drive electric drivetrain has max outputs of more than 500 kW and 900 N·m (664 lb·ft), for a maximum vehicle speed of more than 155 mph (250 km/h) and a driving range of more than 373 mi (600 km).
The concept’s hybrid architecture combined battery-electric and fuel-cell systems placed in a layout unique to the N Vision 74. A 62.4-kW·h T-type battery is mounted to lower overall height and center of gravity. The fuel-cell stack, with nominal and max outputs of 85 and 95 kW, respectively, is mounted in front.
The concept features dual-charging capability, and the rear-mounted 9.3-lb (4.2-kg) capacity hydrogen fuel tanks can be refueled in 5 min. The 85-kW fuel cell converts hydrogen to electricity to charge the battery. The battery also shared the 800-V technology from Hyundai’s e-GMP platform with fast-charge capability.
One of the key development objectives of the concept was to deliver the “highest driving emotion” for the driver, even under severe track conditions. Independent, rear-mounted motors allowed engineers to tune left-right distribution, allowing multiple differential settings to be optimally configured especially for track driving.
The hydrogen hybrid architecture presented unique challenges for heat management. Three independent cooling channels for battery, fuel cell, and motor enabled optimized energy efficiency and resistance to performance degradation.
