CALIFORNIA CITY, Calif. — There’s not usually too much to see out in this stretch of the Mojave desert north of Los Angeles. There’s the “airplane boneyard” of retired commercial aircraft, Willow Springs raceway and Hyundai’s proving grounds, where drivers put in 2 million miles a year on 12 test courses.
But a visit last month by a pair of Hyundai Motor Group superstars — r&d chief Albert Biermann and product strategy leader Thomas Schemera — turned the California Proving Ground into a showcase for an aggressive global automaker undergoing rapid changes in product, personnel and its vision of the future.
Biermann and Schemera, who Hyundai hired away from BMW’s fabled M performance division, brought some vehicles to illustrate the accomplishments that have garnered Hyundai, Kia and Genesis a flurry of automotive awards.
There was the new three-row Hyundai Palisade demonstrating its off-road abilities. The Veloster N hot hatch screamed around a road course. Also shown was the very rare Nexo hydrogen fuel cell crossover.
Although barely a presence in the U.S. because of a lack of hydrogen infrastructure, Hyundai sold 699 Nexo models globally last month and expects that number to grow.
The executives also brought a prototype of what may become the group’s top performance vehicle — a “racing midship” version of the Veloster hatchback called the RM19.
The California event, following the opening of the Los Angeles Auto Show, was something of a victory lap for the Korean group’s brands, all of which had something to show in L.A. Hyundai featured the sharply creased Vision T concept that will become the next-generation Tucson; Kia had the new Seltos small crossover; and Genesis showed the heavily refreshed G90 flagship sedan.
Not only are Hyundai, Kia and Genesis growing U.S. sales in a down market this year, but the company is investing billions of dollars in new technologies globally that could allow it to leapfrog traditional competitors as the internal-combustion engine gives way to broad electrification.
“We have made big progress in conventional technology, there’s no doubt about it,” Schemera told Automotive News at the proving grounds. “But that’s not where the music plays in the future.”
Schemera’s full title is executive vice president and head of product planning and strategy division. Much of his focus is on positioning the company as a technology leader.
While the Hyundai group has been able to catch up to automakers that had a long head start making automobiles powered by gasoline and diesel, the Korean company is an early leader in electrification, be it battery-electric vehicles or hydrogen fuel cells, he said.
“We are at a very high level,” Sche-mera said of electrification. “The best of the best.”
Hyundai’s strategy targets sales of 670,000 battery-electric and fuel cell vehicles combined in 2025, with the goal of becoming a top-three manufacturer of EVs by the target date, according to a company announcement this month.
Biermann, known throughout the industry as a hardcore car guy for his decades of performance development, stressed that Hyundai’s performance N division is paving the way for electrification. Hyundai Motorsport unveiled the Veloster N ETCR (electric touring car racing) in September to participate in the new motorsport category next year.
“With N, we will also head into a future of sustainable propulsion without emissions,” he said. “And the RM [car] will also serve to prepare steps into electrification for N and other brands,” he said, referring to Kia and Genesis, which are also part of his portfolio.
For now though, Biermann sounds like he wants to turn the fire-breathing RM19 into an ultra-performance halo car that could be sitting in dealerships within a few years.
“It’s possible to build a production version, but it would be expensive and in small numbers,” he said. Perhaps, he added, it would better after the “N community” grows with new product and visibility.
The performance offshoot was established in 2015 and its philosophy is that N vehicles must have the performance and durability for sustained driving on a racetrack. One step down is the N-Line, with performance and appearance upgrades, but not track-level ability.
So far, the only N car in the U.S. is the Veloster, but Biermann said a crossover will get the N treatment shortly. It will have a new eight-speed automatic transmission that will also make its way into the Veloster N, currently sold only with a manual.
The RM19 prototype is rear-wheel drive with the motor sitting where the back seat would be in a regular, front-wheel-drive Veloster N. The RM19 has a more powerful version of the Veloster’s turbocharged, 2.0-liter engine, making 390 hp. It also has a racing transmission that uses a clutch and paddle shifters.
Biermann said the next iteration of the RM19 is moving toward a new turbocharged 2.5-liter engine with the eight-speed automatic. Basic versions of those components can be found in a Sonata N-Line going on sale in fall 2020 that was previewed to the media this month.
Biermann admits the RM19 would be a pretty wild ride for street use — but it’s headed in that direction.
“At this point, there’s no decision this car will ever go to the marketplace,” he said. “But we are getting closer now.”