Is Hyundai’s N Division the Next Gazoo Racing?
It is easy to draw a parallel between Hyundaiās āNā sub-brand and BMWās āMā subsidiary. Hyundai uses the same formula: tuning a high trim version of production models for superior performance. The N division is headed by Albert Biermann, retired vice president of BMWās M division. And the divisionsā names are both a single letter. Theyāre even next to each other in the alphabet, for goodness sake. But you can make as good a case for a parallel with Toyotaās Gazoo Racing. And Iāll bet that isnāt by accident.
Akio Toyoda was Toyotaās Vice Presidentāand heir to the family. After the automaker cancelled its final front-engine, RWD sports car, the companyās head test driver, āNĆ¼rburgring Meisterā Hiromu Naruse had some stern words for Toyoda. He said no executive who didnāt know how to race should be making decisions for an automaker.
To Akio Toyodaās credit, he volunteered for lessons with Naruse. He completely fell in love with racing. He even petitioned the board of directors to start a Toyota Factory Works race team and send him to the NĆ¼rburgring 24 Hours. They said no.
So Naruse and Toyoda two men flew to Germany with a volunteer racing team, bought a pair of Lexuses, and competed anyway. Akio Toyoda drove under an alias. They named their team after a car auction website he had been running as a side hustle: Gazoo.com. And thus, Gazoo Racing was born.
Gazoo Racing grew so popular that it eventually became the official Toyota Factory Works team. Akio Toyoda became the companyās president and insisted on producing multiple front-engine, RWD sports cars. GR is still a badge you can find on many special edition Toyota models tuned for performance driving. Why? Because the VP of a Japanese company was brave enough to fight the Germans on their own soil.
And that brings us back to Hyundai N. What does the āNā stand for? The Namyang district in South Korea where Hyundaiās R&D department designs āNā cars and the NĆ¼rburgring, where they all get tested. Thatās right, Hyundai took a page out of Toyotaās book and established a āEuropean Technical Centerā within eyesight of the NĆ¼rburgring to put its N cars through their paces.
Thatās not all. Hyundai is positioning itself as a major contender in the NĆ¼rburgring 24 Hours. For 2024, itās bringing its largest team to date. The N division is entering three Elantra N TCR cars. Another team with some manufacturer support will be racing an i30N Fastback in the VT2 FWD class.
Obviously, Hyundai isnāt against learning from BMWās M division as it perfects its own N division. But it also has its sights on Toyotaās Gazoo Racing. Often metaphorically. But at the NĆ¼rburgring 24 Hours, it will be chasing Toyotaās Gazoo Racingāand BMWās M carsāliterally.
Next, read more on Akio Toyodaās secret Gazoo Racing quest, or learn about Hyundaiās glow up in the video below: