Hyundai is serious about building an N Vision 74 production car

“I hate show business,” said Hyundai’s chief creative officer Luc Donckerwolke. "I hate doing show cars and then – nothing.”

He’s not talking about the vagaries of the film industry, but instead the curious world of concept cars. If he designs and builds something, then it’s got to be real. And he told TopGear.com that Hyundai is very serious about making the stunning N Vision 74 concept car very real.

“Absolutely,” he responded when asked by TG whether the hydrogen-powered coupe could be built for human purchase. “We are serious about this. This could come into production. We have the platform - it’s a motorsport platform.”

He’s referring of course to the car's punchy drivetrain. The N Vision 74 – a nod to the Giugiaro-designed Hyundai Pony Coupe concept shown at the 1974 Turin Motor Show – features a 670bhp hybrid setup. Not of an ICE and a battery, but a hydrogen fuel cell and a battery. The former’s “the most advanced” cell the company has built (and it can draw upon plenty of hydrogen experience) weighing just 4.2kg, while the latter is a 62.4kWh unit.

Along with a maximum of 670 horsies, there’s 664lb ft of torque, all sent to the rear wheels for full drift-spec. At the car’s launch, Hyundai – sensible, family-oriented Hyundai that’ll sell you a very reasonably-priced i10 – said a key parameter was for the N74 to be a ‘corner rascal’.

So the tech’s proven. And because the idea for the N74 came from up on high, a path to production is perhaps a little less fraught than most show cars. “It’s something that came from management,” Donckerwolke said about the car’s origin. “It’s always good when the management is telling you [to do it]. There is nothing unfeasible about this car. It’s pure. We’re hoping and we’re working and it’s only a matter of the right constellation.”

Hyundai won’t be churning these things out at the rate of i10s, mind, Donckerwolke instead saying production of the N74 would be in the form of a "limited series”. Looks like this show Pony is set to dance.