What It Is: Hyundai’s funky Veloster hatchback, which is gearing up for its first redesign. While the new car will share its basic shape and three-door design (two doors on the passenger’s side and one long door on the driver’s side) with the current car, the all-new Veloster seen here will evolve its look, trading on the design language established by the Hyundai i30 (better known stateside as the Elantra GT hatchback).

Like the i30, the new Veloster also will offer a hot, performance-oriented N variant. Just as BMW has M, Audi has S and RS, and Mercedes has AMG, Hyundai is rolling out its N sub-brand to denote its sporty models, presumably because that letter was available. Its mission is to turn ordinary Hyundai products into track-hungry machines. As such, the Veloster N will need to turn heads, and from these spy shots we can see that this model will wear a trim-specific front fascia and sport a set of chunky 10-spoke wheels through which peek four big disc brakes. Two massive exhaust outlets are positioned at each corner of the rear bumper, and this prototype’s camo appears to cover a tall rear wing ready to challenge the height of the unit fitted to the Honda Civic Type R. Non-N Veloster prototypes we’ve seen have less aggressive front ends, smaller wheels and brakes, and center-exit exhaust.

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Why It Matters: With the hot-hatch environment getting ever hotter—thanks to recent entries such as the Ford Focus RS and the new Civic Type R—the Veloster N gives Hyundai its first real opportunity to join the party in the United States. (We are unsure whether the i30 N will make its way stateside.) It also will be critical to establishing the credibility of the new performance sub-brand, which if successful will allow Hyundai to sell cars on more than just value.

Platform: The new Hyundai Veloster should ride on the same updated bones as the 2018 Elantra GT. Like the new Elantra, the Veloster’s wheelbase and overall width likely will see mild growth spurts. Additionally, the Veloster N is expected to use the adaptive suspension system that will be fitted to the i30 N.

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Powertrain: Following in the footsteps of the i30 N, the Veloster N is all but certain to be powered by a turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four. Output should be around 250 horsepower, channeled to the front wheels. If the i30 N that Hyundai took to the 24 Hours of Nürburgring race is anything to go by, then the Veloster N will come with a six-speed manual transmission, but Hyundai is likely to offer the Veloster N with an automatic as well.

Competition: Fiat 500 Abarth, Ford Fiesta ST, Mini Cooper S JCW, Subaru WRX, Volkswagen GTI.

Estimated Arrival and Price: With the i30 N scheduled to debut at this year’s Frankfurt show, we suspect Hyundai won’t take the wraps off of the Veloster N until the 2018 auto-show season, with the model going on sale before year’s end. Given the competition the Veloster N has its sights set on, plan on Hyundai bringing the high-performance hatch to market for in the neighborhood of $25,000.

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