Gabriel Tarquini announced his retirement from the world of motorsport. The stainless champion says goodbye to competitions after a long career that saw him first involved in open wheels and then for a long time in the touring championships. Last summer we met him in Monza, on the occasion of the Hyundai N Driving Experience. Here is an excerpt from his interview.
Monza racetrack, two wings of Hyundai, the sportiest of the family, the extreme N and the more sober N Line. In the center Gabriele Tarquini, quicksilver of motorsport and a well of wisdom and experience from which in Alzenau they have been able to draw to develop the winning cars of recent years. The former Formula 1 driver, winner of the World Touring Cup (WTCR) in 2018 also actively participated in the development of the Hyundai i30 N and indirectly in that of the i20 N, thus contributing to the arrival of the new generation on the road. We interviewed Gabriele Tarquini to get him to tell us how the work on the track and in the race has been carried out on the road cars of the N range.
Hyundai N and N Line, the ultimate expression of the brand’s sporting soul on the road. What did you bring from motorsport to these cars?
“They are two very different cars (i30 N and i20 N) but they belong to the same driving pleasure because they both face a stage of enthusiasts, of people who love to drive who often go to the track to test cars and do it while having fun. They are certainly two fascinating cars that I helped develop, especially the i30 N which was born after two years of fantastic experiences in the WTCR world championship and therefore were born under the lucky star of a car that dominated the category. “
Speaking of the i30 N, can you tell us about its development process?
“This car was born from carte blanche, it was Hyundai’s first circuit car after a long experience in rallying. We started with a group of engineers, teams and mechanics who started working on a 0 project. The process was long, we had many problems at the beginning because it was an ambitious project: to build a winning car in a championship but above all in able to be managed by even amateur drivers who could buy the car in Alzenau to go racing on Sunday and have fun. So a car easy to drive and which represented a study that in Hyundai was deepened with the new i30 N which has above all in the gearbox a very important development because it passes to an 8-speed robotized instead of the 6-speed manual thus giving the possibility of to drive always keeping both hands on the steering wheel, a very important detail. “
The 48 V mild-hybrdi has arrived on the N Line range, a sustainable choice. Will this be the key to extending the life of N cars as well?
“Yes, the market asks for hybrid cars more and more often and therefore Hyundai has adapted to the demands of a clientele that is becoming more and more specific by putting this hybrid in the N Line as well. Undoubtedly the driving pleasure is the same, the set-up, the balance of the car, the steering precision, the braking which is one of the strengths of both the i20 N and the i30 N have remained the same. Everything has remained unchanged, only the propulsion and emissions have changed. Driving pleasure has been preserved. “
The restyling of Hyundai i30 N was presented last September, with several small innovations to characterize the Korean performance (also available in fastback version). Starting with the new eight-speed oil-bath double-clutch automatic transmission, combined with the 2.0 T-GDI petrol engine capable of delivering 280 hp and 392 Nm (with Performance Pack), increasing the output by 5 hp and 39 Nm respectively. power compared to the previous model. The maximum speed is 250 km / h, with the possibility of sprinting from 0 to 100 in 5.4 seconds with the Launch Control. The list price of the new Hyundai i30 N is 40,850 euros for the 5-door version and 44,050 euros for the fastback one.
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