The next step in Hyundai’s electrification has started with the follow-up to the fantastic Ioniq 5. This sedan, called the Ioniq 6, has been teased for the first time in a 36-second video called Silhouette of a New Era. It hints at the car’s non-traditional shape, which is likely done to optimize its aerodynamic performance. The 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6 is based on the Prophecy Concept first shown in 2020. Although it won’t be as dramatic as the show car, expect the production model to take a lot of cues.
Hyundai’s teaser video starts with a child looking at a magazine and admiring a bike with an aerodynamic design. It then switches to a simple yet elegant lounging chair before transitioning to mountains with clouds flowing over it and smoke revealing a black stone. Finally, it shows a curved building made of glass with a sphere inside it.
2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6 teased with streamlined objects
All of these shapes point to the Ioniq 6 ditching the typical three-box sedan design that’s been so common for so long. It will be the latest four-door to switch to something less conventional, putting it on the same boat as the Mercedes-Benz EQS and EQE sedans. One big difference is while the two Mercedes vehicles still have a somewhat traditional rear deck lid, the Hyundai will not. Its rear end will sweep down dramatically, resembling something closer to what you’d find in the Saab 9000 and 9-3 Viggen but more curvaceous.
The Ioniq 6 is the second Hyundai vehicle on the company’s E-GMP architecture dedicated specifically to battery-electric vehicles. Unlike the concept it’s based on, the production model appears to have been shrunken down, putting it closer to a compact sedan in size. This also places the Ioniq 6 squarely against its chief rival, the Tesla Model 3. However, the Ioniq 6 will be smaller than the upcoming Volkswagen Aero B, which is closer to a midsize sedan.
Expect the Ioniq 6 to have the longest driving range out of all the E-GMP-based vehicles. Between being lower to the ground and aerodynamic shape, it has the potential to go more than 300 miles between charges in both single- and dual-motor configurations with the 77.4-kWh battery.
Like the Ioniq 5, the Ioniq 6 should have 225 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque in the rear-drive single-motor guise. The more powerful dual-motor variant with AWD should make 320 hp and 446 lb-ft.
One big differentiator in the Ioniq 6 will be the availability of two performance-oriented variants. The first one is the N Line, which slots neatly between the standard model and the full-fledged N variant. It gets extensive suspension tweaks, summer performance tires on 20-inch wheels, and more power than the standard dual-motor car. Expect this to borrow the same configuration found in the Genesis GV60 Performance, which makes 429 hp and 446 lb-ft or up to 483 hp and 516 lb-ft for about ten seconds when you activate Boost mode.
Slotting at the top of the lineup will be the Ioniq 6 N, the most potent member of the family. Expect this to get all of the go-fast goodies from the Kia EV6 GT and the upcoming Ioniq 5 N. That means nearly 600 hp from the two electric motors, a limited-slip differential, an electronically-controlled suspension, and N-specific performance tires. When it debuts later this year, the standard versions of the 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6 N will arrive first followed by the N Line and full N models.
