A Hyundai official says the Korean firm is “considering” giving its new Venue baby SUV the go-faster “N” treatment.

Speaking to CARmag.co.za at the launch of the new model in Cape Town, Jebeen Lee, Hyundai’s head of product for overseas markets, suggested a high-performance Venue had yet to be ruled out.

“I know they [those in the N division] are considering it currently. The N engineers, they want to put ‘N’ on everything but there’s always the matter of price, so I think it’s not fixed yet,” he told us.

While Lee pointed out former BMW M boss Albert Biermann ”takes special care of that division”, he quipped – while flashing a big smile suggesting he wasn't being entirely serious – “there might be an ‘N’ on everything ... maybe even the i10 and Atos”.

The first model developed under Biermann is the i30 N hot hatch, which is finally set to arrive in South Africa in limited numbers towards the end of January 2020.