The Hyundai Ioniq 5 N is already one of the best performance cars on the market under $100,000, yet somehow the Korean automaker made it even cooler. Hyundai and The Drift King Keiichi Tsuchiya have teamed up to cook up a special edition Ioniq 5 N DK Edition that may be the sickest Ioniq 5 N yet.
DK stands for “Drift King”, which is the nickname of Keiichi Tsuchiya who Hyundai brought in to help oversee the development of the Ioniq 5 N DK Edition. Tsuchiya is a professional race car driver, having raced in series like Le Mans, Japanese Touring Car Championship and NASCAR in the late 1990s. However, he’s best known for drifting, where he helped popularize both the sport and his drift car of choice: the Toyota AE86 Sprinter Trueno. He’s such an icon of the sport he was enlisted as a consultant on the drifting anime Initial D, which says a lot.
In addition to bringing in Tsuchiya, Hyundai also partnered with Japanese tuner Autobacs Seven. The result is an Ioniq 5 N that Hyundai executive director of Hyundai N Brand Management June Park says pushes “the boundaries of EV performance.” It looks the part too. Hyundai threw on a unique aero kit consisting of a rear wing and diffuser, front splitter and side skirts all made out of carbon fiber. The exterior is finished off with “DK Edition” badges on the C-pillars, special white paint and dark green trim.
To help with weight, there are lightweight forged 21-inch wheels at all four corners. Behind those wheels, six-piston monoblock brakes with bigger pad contact areas help bring the DK Edition down from speed. A stiffened suspension with H&R springs that also lowers the Ioniq 5 N by half an inch helps with cornering. Hyundai says each part was meticulously tuned by Tsuchiya. The brand even released a video showing him on the track, helping to get the feel of the car right.
Hyundai didn’t mention if the DK Edition had any powertrain modifications, though it’s not like the Ioniq 5 N needs it anyway with its 601 horsepower (641 with the N Grin Shift boost mode). There’s no word on a price for the DK Edition, but it ultimately doesn’t matter for us. It doesn’t look as if it’s coming to the US. Hyundai says the Ioniq 5 N DK Edition will go on sale in Korean and Japanese markets by the end of the year.
