Watch a Hyundai Ioniq 5 N Lap the Nürburgring in 7:45

When we got our hands on a Hyundai Ioniq 5 N prototype at the Nürburgring last summer, we knew that Hyundai's first electric performance car was something special. Now, a timed Nordschleife lap from Germany's Sport Auto proves that the Hyundai is more than quick enough around the country's most famous track as well.

With a soundtrack of Hyundai's simulated "engine" noise behind him, Sport Auto's test driver Christian Gebhart put the Hyundai through its paces. Other than the quiet drone of a fictional engine and the unusually loud squeals of tires, the lap looks surprisingly ordinary. The heavy Hyundai is a good match for the notoriously difficult 'Ring, even if the brand doesn't care about lap times there.

The final time of 7:45 may be a ways off Porsche's recent 7:07 in a still-unnamed Taycan variant, but the electric Hyundai is in good company. The time matches or beats Sport Auto's test numbers for a first-generation Audi R8, a Lamborghini Gallardo LP 570-4 Superleggera, and a Ferrari 599, along with Volkswagen's official time for the new Golf R.

The Nordschleife, a 13-mile track filled with fast corners, is a major test for EVs that are generally not designed to be driven hard for more than a few minutes at a time. Despite being the performance variant of a mass-market SUV, the Ioniq 5 N crushes those concerns. Laps like these are what make the new Ioniq variant the most exciting electric performance car of the year.

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