Automakers have been introducing 2027 models on a regular basis, but Hyundai is just getting around to announcing the 2026 Ioniq 5 N. It’s better late than never as the company has confirmed it will be “more attainable than ever.”

While last year’s model began at $66,200⁠, the 2026 Ioniq 5 N has been slashed to $59,900. That’s a savings of $6,300 and Hyundai didn’t do any shady stuff with the destination fee as it remains unchanged at $1,600.

Review: The Hyundai Ioniq 5 N Is A Ballistic Missile That Redefines EVs

The company said the move aligns with their “broader strategy to increase N leadership by making track-ready performance and technology accessible to more driving enthusiasts.” $61,500 is far from affordable, but what do you expect for a high-performance EV with a dual-motor all-wheel drive system developing 641 hp (478 kW / 650 PS) and 568 lb-ft (769 Nm) of torque. It enables the model to accelerate from 0-60 mph (0-96 km/h) in 3.25 seconds, before hitting a top speed of 162 mph (261 km/h).

Getting back to the changes, the 2026 Ioniq 5 N adopts a new North American Charging Standard port for easier access to Tesla Superchargers. Buyers will also find CCS-to-NACS adapters as well as a newly standard Level 1 and Level 2 combination charger.

Additional changes are limited, but there’s a new Performance Blue Pearl paint job as well as a lightly revised interior with rear windows that now have an auto down/up function. Buyers will also find a Forward Attention Warning system with an interior camera as well as an upgraded N Drift Optimizer, which now features ten settings instead of one.

A few years ago, with serious doubt hanging over whether any carmaker could build an EV that put driver engagement first, Hyundai dropped the Ioniq 5 N. It came with an ICE-inspired soundtrack and fake gears, and it kicked off a trend that Porsche, Mercedes-AMG, and BMW M have since chased down and copied. What looked like a gimmick turned out to be the template.

As we recently discovered while testing the Ioniq 6, these fun features have been made even more realistic, and Hyundai believes it can improve them further. According to Hyundai’s global R&D boss, Manfred Harrer, the car manufacturer still considers itself a leader in this technology.

Review: More Porsche Than Hyundai, The Ioniq 6 N Is A Masterstroke

“In the next generation of these cars, I want to make it even more realistic,” he told Autocar. “I want to enhance it further.” According to Harrer, they could further develop the sounds of a backfiring exhaust and add “vibration in the car,” confident that this could usher in the “next level” of engagement.

“There are so many ideas how you can advance it further, but this is all about experience,” he added. “A lot of people say it’s fake, but people like it so there is some beauty – and why not play around with it? We are not the serious Porsche guys. We are fun to drive. We made a great movement and over the years we will enhance it – and the next platform gets this. The demos are already running.”

A New EV Platform Is Coming

While there is still some life left in Hyundai’s combustion-powered N cars, with the next-generation i20 N to become a 1.6-liter turbo hybrid and the next i30 N likely receiving a 2.5-liter turbo hybrid, Hyundai’s new IMA architecture will underpin its new range of EVs and their subsequent N-branded versions.

Hyundai has been developing the Integrated Modular Architecture for several years and could launch it in 2028 in the second-gen Ioniq 5. It will retain 800-volt technology, but improvements will be made to charging times and to boost efficiency and thermal management. Harrer referred to it as a “huge evolution” rather than a “revolution,” unlike the current E-GMP architecture.

The national average price of a gallon of regular gasoline is $4.29 and that’s up nearly $1.15 from a year ago. However, some states like California are paying over $6 per gallon.

Given the sky-high prices, it’s no surprise that customers are embracing hybrids and even showing renewed interest in EVs. That’s certainly the case over at Hyundai, where hybrid sales soared 90% compared to last year. Sonata Hybrid sales were up 250%, while the Santa Fe (30%), Elantra (29%), and Tucson (10%) hybrids also experienced gains.

More: Hyundai’s Best-Seller Gets Cheaper Hybrids And A New Blackout Model

Electric vehicles also bounced back following the elimination of the federal tax credit last year. In fact, the Ioniq 5 celebrated its best May ever as sales jumped 28% to 5,002 units. The model is now up 16% year-to-date as customers have snapped up 18,395 electric hatchbacks.

The Ioniq 9 is also doing okay as customers bought 1,145 last month. That’s not great, but it’s still a 279% increase from this time last year.

Overall, Hyundai sales were up 3% to 87,468 units. This was largely due to the Tucson, which found 20,581 buyers in May. The crossover was followed by the affordable Elantra, which was up 7% to 16,819 units. The Palisade is also proving popular as consumers snapped up 13,089 of them.

As for the losers, they’re not much of a surprise as Ioniq 6 sales fell 85% to 176 units. Of course, that’s hardly shocking as the company dropped the mainstream model and the high-performance N variant isn’t on sale in America yet.

The Santa Cruz plunged 41%, while the Venue fell 27%. The latter feels like a relic from a bygone era, while the unibody truck is expected to be living on borrowed time.

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There was a time, not long ago, when the idea of brands like Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Mercedes-AMG studying a Hyundai for engineering inspiration would have been absurd, even laughable. That time is over. The electric Ioniq 5 N has forced every serious performance brand to take notes, and several are openly trying to replicate what it does.

It’s been nearly three years since the Ioniq 5 N arrived and reset the bar for performance EVs. Rather than chasing ever-bigger acceleration numbers, Hyundai put the driving experience first. The tool it used was a simulated transmission, engineered by the same team behind the N division’s eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox, that feels close enough to the real thing to fool most drivers.

Read: Hyundai’s Gated Manual Patent Looks Like A Koenigsegg Idea On An Elantra Budget

Porsche has acknowledged it’s tested and looked at Hyundai’s technology, but is not yet ready to commit to launching something similar on any of its EVs.

“We’ll see what happens, but it is not a technology that we do not look at. It’s very interesting. To be honest, Hyundai did a really good job at it,” Porsche product spokesperson Ben Weinberger told Car Sales. “If we do it, it will definitely be a Porsche-typical solution, but it would be too early to talk.”

911 Bosses Like Hyundai’s Solution, Too

Last year, the vice president of Porsche’s 718 and 911 lines, Frank Moster, and the head of Porsche’s GT cars, Andreas Preuninger, both heaped praise on the Ioniq 5 N, acknowledging that they learned a lot after testing it.

“This is the way,” Moser said while speaking about the simulated transmission and the Ioniq 5 N’s fake ICE-inspired soundtrack. “The customer could decide if he wants to drive in complete silent mode, or he wants to be part of the game, feeling the virtual sounds of a flat six and the virtual gear shifts. That would be the direction for the future.”

The all-electric Porsche 718 Cayman and Boxster would be the most logical choices to adopt something similar. But Porsche will also sell both with combustion power, which may give it less reason to engineer (read spend on) the kind of simulated mechanical feel that the Ioniq 5 N thrives on. Why fake gears when real ones could be on the options list? Then again, if the electric 718 shows up feeling sterile next to a three-year-old Hyundai, Porsche will have some explaining to do.