Carmakers have long offered a series of performance and aesthetic packages to appeal to a wider variety of audiences. Ford had the Shelby GT cars, Chevrolet gave cars like the Camero and El Camino the “Super Sport” treatment. The newest Hyundai joining in the performance package fun will be the Hyundai Sonata N-Line. 

The Hyundai Sonata and Nürburgring have rarely been used in the same sentence except for maybe some lively bar-room banter. The Sonata is a polite and reasonable commuter sedan that has no business flying around the Nürburgring, but Hyundai means to change that.

What is the N-Line?

The N-Line represents the top of the heap for Hyundai. The Elantra GT has already gotten the N-Line treatment, which was well received by the motoring world. Although they haven’t disclosed a ton of specifics on what it will mean specifically to the Sonata, Hyundai has given us some specs.

MotorTrend reports the power behind this South Korean racer is a turbocharged 2.5-liter “Smartstream” gasoline direct injection (TGDI) engine. The Sonata N-Line will make 290 hp and 310 lb-ft of torque. While those may not feel like huge numbers, it is around a 60 percent jump in both power and torque from the standard Sonata, as reported by MotorTrend. I mean – that’s nothing to shake a stick at. 

Obviously, with that kind of power boost, the car will have to undergo some serious updates. MotorTrend reports that the Hyundai Sonata N-Line will receive structural reinforcement and retuning of springs, dampers, and brakes. 

Further improvements with the N-Line

Hyundai isn’t stopping with just what’s underneath the Sonata; it’s giving it a bit of dress-up too. You might notice the front end with some new pizazz like a sportier grille and three large air intakes. MotorTrend goes on to say the back end will have a new rear bumper, dual exhaust, and new rear fascia. The interior got a few bells and whistles, too. The Hyundai Sonata N-Line will also have heavily bolstered seats, red stitching in the steering wheel, and 19-inch wheels. All in all, it sounds like Hyundai gave the old Sonata the works. 

Will it be affordable?

Hyundai still hasn’t released the price for the Sonata N-Line yet but based on similar models both inside and out of the Hyundai line, MotorTrend speculates that the Sonata N-Line should fall somewhere in the $35,000-$40,000 range. If the Sonata N gets a dual-clutch gearbox like the Veloster N, it should be a great value.