So what makes the RN22e tick? Well, there’s a 160 kW motor at the front, a 270 kW motor a the back, and mechanical torque vectoring to put power down. However, power isn’t the only goal here. Hyundai’s N division has been really concentrating on cooling, braking, and suspension to get this heavy electric performance car around the track lap after lap. It looks a bit greasy out on the circuit, but the Hyundai RN22e seems to be coping admirably. Pirelli P Zero Trofeos aren’t exactly known for wet-weather prowess, yet the pace seen here isn’t bad for an accompanied ride. Sure, the RN22e is happy to hang the back end out with the stability control in sport mode, but that certainly beats fighting understeer. Plus, it can evidently do several laps before needing to go in. I’m excited to see how this translates to the upcoming Ioniq 5 N, but there are a few things demonstrated in this video that give me pause for thought.
The first thing you’ll probably notice is the noise. The RN22e’s synthetic sound gets pumped through external speakers which frankly, I’m not interested in. Powertrain noise is, by nature, a byproduct. The primary goal of an internal-combustion engine isn’t to make noise, it just so happens that explosions are loud. Sure, the roar of a well-fettled V8 is a joyous byproduct, but why fake noise on an EV when electric motors have their own enticing banshee wail? In addition, I can’t think of a reason other than posturing as to why I’d want a track-oriented EV to be louder on the outside by artificial means. Tracks have noise limits that you really want to stay clear of, lest you get black-flagged. While there are still tracks out there with generous noise limits like Virginia International Raceway, avoiding fake engine engine noise should ease some fears of Laguna Seca’s 90 dB sound limit. Then there’s the pleasure of going for a spirited drive without disturbing the peace that most EVs afford. So long as you’re being responsible, you can take an EV to a backroad and have a bit of fun without disturbing nearby farmers. External speakers just make your presence that much more obvious.
Another strange feature on the RN22e is something Hyundai calls Virtual Grin Shift – basically a simulation of a dual-clutch gearbox. Using sound piped through the external speakers, some special powertrain logic, and a set of paddles, Hyundai is able to fake the sensations of a dual-clutch gearbox. As someone whose only car has a manual gearbox, you might think I’d be stoked for this addition of feel. In reality, I feel like it’s something I’d never use. In an internal-combustion car, gears are a necessity. If engine speed goes too low, the engine stalls. If engine speed goes too high, catastrophic damage can occur. In an EV, you never have to worry about stalling and peak motor speeds are so high that most electric cars render gears unnecessary. A fake DCT doesn’t serve a necessary function, nor is it faster than just letting the electric powertrain do its thing as single-speed electric drive units have no torque interruption and will never be in a sub-optimal gear. That’s not to say that an EV with multiple gear ratios and paddle shifters wouldn’t be sweet, but that’s worlds away from the purpose of this system. Still, it’s not exactly a nuisance, and it really signals that driving engagement matters to Hyundai.
Granted, these are fairly minor gripes in the grand scheme of things, and the world’s a better place with automakers pushing for trackworthy electric cars. I mean come on, would you really want to live in a world without sports sedans from retail brands? While the real future solution for longer lapping sessions is an EV for daily use and a fun ICE car on the weekend, an all-in-one solution like the RN22e doesn’t sound like a bad consolation prize at all. [Editor’s Note: I think all the things Thomas is addressing here – fake engine noise, fake gear changes – are the result of some lingering insecurity EV makers have about their identity as performance cars. What I like about them is that while they’re silly, sure, they’re silly in the service of driving enjoyment and the associated irrationality of why we like cars. I suspect these are a sort of transition affectation, and in decades to come we’ll view these as strange fun quirks from the interesting blurry period between combustion cars and EVs. You’ll be asking owners to make their RN22e make the funny noises at a Cars and Coffee in 2043. – JT] Photo credits: Hyundai
The Hyundai RN22E Is A Track-Focused Hyundai Ioniq 6 Meant To Show How The Upcoming Hyundai Ioniq 5 N Hatchback Will Conquer Racing’s Archnemesis: Weight The 276 Horsepower 2022 Hyundai Elantra N Is A Blue Collar Sports Sedan Revelation Here’s What The 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6 Is Like In Person And I’m Happy To Say It Has A Frunk And No Touchscreen Glovebox Opener The Stunning Hyundai N Vision 74 Goes Fast As Hell By Augmenting Battery Power With Hydrogen A Car Designer’s Opinion On The Hyundai N Vision 74 That’s Currently Breaking The Internet Got a hot tip? Send it to us here. Or check out the stories on our homepage. Support our mission of championing car culture by becoming an Official Autopian Member. If the latest Electrikana is any indication, that banshee wail is anything but enticing. It’s like fingernails on a chalkboard. The noise, whatever it is, provides feedback to the driver. Whatever the sound, it needs to not be obnoxious. If that means synthetically generated sound piped into the cabin, so be it. If you subject other people to sounds that have no purpose, though, you’ve lost my support. Unnecessary exterior vehicle noises with no purpose other than your own enjoyment just mean you’re being discourteous to others. That goes for the fart can glass pack and the intentionally overpowered subwoofers just as well as speakers on the outside of your EV. And yes, my hot rod has cats and mufflers. I think it sounds awesome with open headers, but reality is that 99.9% of everybody I drive by disagrees. Also think Torch is right, it’ll be a quirky footnote someday. I could understand artificial interior noise in this application, because if you’re going to have a helmet on at the track it’ll give you a good idea of what’s going on throttle input/speed/etc wise. But exterior noise? Absurd. It’s just a stupid dick measuring contest at that point. DURRRR MINE’S LOUDER!!!! You might as well just put speakers on the back of the thing and blast Motörhead at that point. It would be as much of a natural car sound as this nonsense is. I don’t much care for excessively loud ICE exhaust but at least it’s coming from an actual, mechanical process. And in regards to all the fake shifter nonsense…same deal. At that point you might as well mount a fake shifter to the floor that changes the fake engine noises whenever you move it so you can just go full Fast And The Furious and downshift 700 times. Or just go play a damn video game because it’s just as real at that point. I was cautiously optimistic about the N EVs for…well, obvious reasons, and the way Biermann has been talking about trying to bake more driving character into them. THAT’S what performance EVs need. I’m not one of those stubborn enthusiasts who’s like I’LL NEVER DRIVE AN EV, I’d just like them to be engaging. But this? This isn’t engaging. This is stupid. I don’t want to drive a computer that’s pretending to be a car. I can’t believe I’m writing this unironically, but Dodge seems to have their finger on the pulse in this space: make an EV that’s loud and engaging due to its mechanical design, not a layer of electronic abstraction slathered over the top. Silent but deadly? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yn32nYsGRZM Pretty soon new cars will be like new boats. We’ll all wonder who is buying them. EVs can make noise. This is true for Formula E. It’s true for the crazy Mach-E that Ken block drove (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-7jBLqSlzg) and it can be true for other cars if they make it so. It’s probably much cheaper to add speakers and digital sound than it is to develop straight-cut gears or whatever happened to make that Mach-E noise, but maybe the aftermarket could step in with ‘noisy’ gear drives for existing EVs. It may result in angry tweets from Elon (while Twitter still exists), but if EVs are the future, there will certainly be companies stepping up with aftermarket parts. EV gears may be the aftermarket exhaust of the sport compact days. You, sir, have no standing to criticize. Fake engine noises relating to speed of the vehicle, however, I can see being useful. After a week or two of driving an EV with a fake engine noise, I would suspect that you could accurately judge your speed within a couple of mph without taking your eyes off the road. As far as exterior noise, obviously there is the pedestrian warning benefit. In addition, if it is loud enough, I would suspect there could be some track day benefit in announcing your presence to the car ahead of you that you want to pass. I know driver’s are supposed to be aware of their surroundings at all times, but reality has a way of spitting in the face of what should be. Also, what’s up with the nose on that thing? It looks like it took a glancing hit from a shrink ray. The noises are the total wrong approach. They need to play to EV strengths with the quickness they have and work on tuning the handling to be quick and light off they want to do fun cars. I’ve heard the Taycan platform has the weight management down but haven’t heard that said about much else. Would be epic if the Ioniq 5 N goes more the WRX route with a bit more all-surface intention and maybe puts on some big ol box flares too and a ridiculous spoiler to emulate the Delta Integrale
