Hyundai N Vision 74: A Big Threat to All Electric

The automotive industry is going through a revolution with electric vehicles taking over traditional ICE vehicles in almost all segments. This shift is predominantly to lower our dependencies on fossil fuels and bring a sustainable model to the transportation industry. While electric vehicles use energy stored in a battery to drive the traction motor, these batteries need to be charged quite often which is a time-consuming process in itself. This also is one of the reasons why electric vehicles have not entirely replaced traditional vehicles. To address these issues, carmakers have been looking at other technologies and Fuel Cell is one such technology that is kind of making headlines lately.

Hyundai N Vision 74

The Fuel Cell technology in itself is going through a lot of advancements similar to EVs, few carmakers around the globe are trying to get this technology to the consumers. On N Day 2022, Hyundai unveiled its vision for a sustainable future through its N Vision 74 which is a high-performance fuel cell hybrid vehicle. The goal of N Day 2022 was to highlight Hyundai N’s commitment to performance even as it expands its array of electric vehicles. The N Vision 74 is what Hyundai refers to as a road-capable “Rolling Lab,” as opposed to the usual concept vehicle, which is a static styling exercise. In September 2022, a follow-up N-Day event was conducted for the automotive press, who got the chance to test drive the prototype on the German Bilster Berg circuit.

Design

The new design language is inspired by the Pony Coupe concept from 1974. N Vision 74 represents Hyundai’s approach toward the future of mobility and what we can expect from high-performance vehicles in the future. N Vision 74 is built on the most advanced fuel cell system, the new balanced aerodynamic design and cooling take care of all the high-performance requirements of the vehicle. It is a part electric and part fuel cell-based vehicle with a hydrogen fuel storage tank on board. Being a hybrid vehicle, it has to bear the extra burden of the tanks. FCVs need a separate heat management system that can take care of the wastewater coming out of the fuel cell stack.

Specifications

N vision has twin motors at the rear which produce 670 hp (500 kW). Hyundai has utilized the dual motor capability by integrating the Torque Vectoring logic (TVCU) for precise handling and traction. draws that power from a 62kWh battery. The 900 Nm of torque helps the vehicle clock 250 km/hr of top speed.

The futuristic bit here is the onboard electricity power station which Hyundai has been working on for all these years. The hydrogen fuel tank weighs just 4.2 kg and can be refuelled up to 80% SOF in merely 5 mins. The fuel cell stack produces an extra 114 hp of power which in hybrid mode gives the necessary boost to the vehicle. N Vision 74 can go more than 600km in a single go by combining Hydrogen fuel and battery energy. The vehicle will have added safety to protect the hydrogen tanks from any leakage or hazard.

Overall specifications of the vehicle are given below:

	N Vision 74
Power	670 hp (500 kW)
Torque	900 Nm
Motor	Twin Motor
Top Speed	250 kph
Battery Capacity	62.4 kWh with 800V fast charging capability
Fuel Cell Stack	114 hp (85 kW)
Tank Capacity	4.2 kg
Fuel Type	Hydrogen
Refueling time	5 mins
Range	600+ km
Dimensions (meters)	4.95L x 1.99W x 1.33H
Wheelbase (mm)	2,905
Front Wheel	275/35R20
Rear Wheel	325/30R21

Launch

The N Vision 74 is not going to come to the market anytime soon as the market is not yet ready for such kind of a vehicle. Having said that, we can definitely expect Hyundai to introduce more hydrogen fuel-based vehicles and eventually set the trend for the next generation of transportation.

Opinion

Hyundai has committed to creating hydrogen fuel cell cars for the future alongside EVs. Earlier, Hyundai had showcased its Hydrogen based vehicle Nexo which is expected to come to the road in March 2023. The platform of N Vision 74 can not accommodate fully electric systems because of its low ground levels. However, new battery formats can be made to fulfill this requirement. Keeping this in mind we can expect some interesting products by Hyundai to come to markets across the globe. Other carmakers can also follow suit and make this technology accessible to the mass segment as early as possible.

All images have been taken from the official Hyundai-N website: https://www.hyundai-n.com/