It was an open secret, but it's now confirmed: Hyundai has announced the official arrival of the N variant of its Kona SUV. And when we talk about the letter N at Hyundai, we're referring to pure performance.

Hyundai's first N-badged SUV will feature a more aggressive version of the regular Kona’s design, which features a more downward extending bumper, honeycomb grille, side skirts, larger solid roof spoiler and a redesigned rear bumper with an integrated air diffuser. Two round exhaust tips will help announce the variant’s intentions to other road users.

Unfortunately, the camouflage on the model in the images presented today prevents us from seeing the overall appearance of the product, but it does look promising.

The manufacturer has also confirmed that its model will be equipped with a 2.0L 4-cylinder turbocharged engine, as well as an 8-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. A launch control system and a special audio system are also in the cards.

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