Hyundai Wants One-Make Elantra N Racing in the U.S.

In a relatively short time, Hyundai has managed to become a fixture in the motorsports world. It's a fixture in the World Rally Championship with the i20 N WRC and the Veloster and Elantra fill touring car grids worldwide. In Korea and China, Hyundai runs a one-make series as part of its N Festival, and now it wants to expand this sort of thing to the U.S.

Last week, Hyundai unveiled the Avante N1 Cup Car and in a press release R&T ran through Google Translate, the automaker said it plans to bring the one-make race to the U.S. next year. Details are slim and based on the translated release, it's unclear if Hyundai plans to do a one-off race here, or if it's going to run a full series of races. We've reached out to the American arm of the automaker, and we'll update if and when we hear more.

One-make race series are far from a new invention, but in the last few years, we've seen some big new players establish their own. The Toyota GR Cup is a series for the GR86 Cup car that ran for the first time this year. Ford will also soon run a one-make series for the new Mustang Dark Horse R. These of course join long-running series by Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Mazda.

The Avante/Elantra N1 Cup looks like a compelling entry-level race car, with a largely stock engine and dual-clutch transmission coupled with KW coilover suspension, a stripped-out interior, and light aerodynamic upgrades. The new N1 version benefits primarily from wider tires for increased grip and the visual changes made for the face-lifted Elantra.

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