KUALA LUMPUR: It is all about balancing on-the-road drive and high-performance with Hyundai’s latest prototype.
Introduced during the 2019 AutoMobility LA, the RM19 “Racing Midship” sports car from Hyundai Motor Company features a 2.0-liter turbocharged, direct-injected engine with an output of approximately 390 horsepower.
Sharing the 2.0-liter turbo engine with TCR racecars from Hyundai N development, the RM19 is expected to have a zero-100kph performance under four seconds.
However, unlike TCR racecars which are affected by BOP (Balance of Performance) adjustments, the RM19 offers extra boost of its output without these BOP restrictions thus offering racecar-like levels of performance, balance, braking and grip while retaining daily road-going capability.
“The RM platform is a versatile engineering testbed, allowing effective evaluation of various powertrains and performance levels, all on normal roads and environments,” said Hyundai Motor Company head of global research and development Albert Biermann.
“Throughout the evolution of the RM series, our engineers have gained tremendous hands-on knowledge of high performance vehicle dynamics with various front-to-rear weight distributions coupled with the effects of a fully-weighted, high-strength body structure on vehicle performance.”
Hyundai embarked on the RM project in 2012 to develop and connect new high-performance motorsports technologies with future N models. Since the initiation of project RM and via evolution of the RM series (RM14, RM15 and RM16), RM models underwent extensive road testing to validate newly-developed technologies, observe their effects on performance, and improve them for subsequent application on future N models.
In addition to the gasoline version, electrified powertrains also provides clean propulsion for the RM19.
“The RM19 sports car signals future brand aspirations for Hyundai’s high-performance N brand, solidly moving N into the prestigious arena of supercar-level performance,” said Hyundai Motor Group’s executive vice president and product division head Thomas Schemera.
“Hyundai N will not only increase heartbeats per minute via powerful internal combustion engines, but also through the instantaneous torque and environmental sustainability of electrified powertrains moving forward.”