A report from an outlet called Money Today picked up by Reddit and Motor1 seems very confident in its sources about the N Vision 74 getting the production green light later this month. According to the translated article, the Korean automaker is planning a Hyundai “Pony Day” on May 27th at the company’s studio located in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. At this party, Hyundai will announce a production version of the N Vision 74, which is reportedly going to be called the “Pony Coupe.”
If you didn’t know, the Hyundai N Vision 74 is based on a 1974 concept car called the Pony, with an original design by Giorgetto Giugiaro that was on display at the 1974 Turin Motor Show in Italy. While the Pony hatchback had a full production run, the coupe never got past the concept stage. At least, maybe until now. It’s also clearly influenced by a few other cars, namely the DeLorean DMC 12. But the N Vision 74 is also an incredibly modern concept, utilizing technologies and some styling from existing Hyundai production vehicles—namely the 1980s-tastic Ioniq 5 hatch—and it’s this component overlap that may lead to the Pony Coupe finally becoming a reality.
The 800-volt architecture is borrowed from Hyundai’s current EVs, and the hydrogen tanks are borrowed from the Hyundai Nexo fuel cell vehicle. It’s best to think of the initially confusing powertrain on the Hyundai N Vision 74 as a “hydrogen hybrid” setup. It’s a hydrogen fuel cell up front with storage tanks in the back, as well as a 62.4 kWh T-shaped battery pack, all powering two rear electric motors. The 800-volt charging architecture means the battery can recharge from 10 to 80 percent in 18 minutes, and pull 95 kW from the fuel cell to recharge the battery if needed. The system makes 580 horsepower and 664 lb-ft of torque, offers a range of over 370 miles, and can get from 0 to 60 mph in 4 seconds.
If they keep the hydrogen, the Pony Coupe will surely have limited marketability in the U.S., as there isn’t a ton of infrastructure for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles outside of California. Of course, the production version could take a dramatically different form. It’s plausible that Hyundai decides to keep things relatively simple and put the N Vision 74 design over a tweaked powertrain platform and produce it as a pure EV alongside the Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6. It may not be happening at all. We’ll find out more May 27.
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