New Hyundai Ioniq 5 N ‘Drift King’ edition teased ahead of Auto Salon debut

The Hyundai Ioniq 5 N is already a menacing-looking 641bhp hyper-hatch, but a special-edition version of our reigning Performance Car of the Year is coming soon. This has been created in collaboration with legendary racing driver Keiichi Tsuchiya, who some will know better as the ‘Drift King’. 

The new Ioniq 5 N DK Edition, which is named for the Drift King himself, will be revealed in full on Friday 10 January at Tokyo Auto Salon 2025. However, Hyundai has released a teaser video that features a cameo appearance from Tsuchiya, and gives a few glimpses of the version. 

The most obvious visual change is the enormous rear spoiler, which appears to be as wide as the car and sits on top of the Ioniq 5 N’s already sizable twin-fin roof spoiler. We can also see extended side skirts, a new front splitter and fresh wheels, which are almost certainly focused more on lightness than aerodynamics.

Elsewhere, the white matt paint is contrasted by lots of gloss-black exterior trim, plus dark green accents around the car. There also appears to be a large ‘DK Edition’ logo on the rear quarter panel. Those probably aren’t the only visual tweaks, however, we’ll have to wait until Friday to find out what else Hyundai has been up to. We also expect the interior to get a unique treatment.

Hyundai hasn’t hinted at any changes to the Ioniq 5 N’s powertrain or chassis. The regular model uses two electric motors – one on each axle – to deliver its 641bhp and 740Nm of torque, plus all-wheel drive and a 3.4-second 0-62mph time. 

It also comes with an ‘N Drift Optimiser’ that is supposed to help maintain balance in powerslides by managing the power distribution. There are 10 levels of driver-assistance and an additional ‘Pro’ mode, but we wouldn’t be surprised if the system has been further enhanced for the DK Edition.

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