Hyundai Ioniq 5 N is an unlikely Audi RS7 rival

Unless you’ve been living in seclusion for the past year, you’ll know that the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N has shaken up the electric vehicle market and changed the way people think about driver-centric electric vehicles, proving that it can give some pricey, exotic-looking sports cars a run for their money.

In its latest test of the Ioniq 5 N, CarWow decided to pit it against the Audi RS7 Performance. While the two cars aren’t direct competitors, the two are similar in size, weight, and power, considering the Hyundai is an electric crossover and the RS7 is a sleek super sedan.

Watch: The Hyundai Ioniq 5 N doesn’t exactly compete with the BMW M4

If someone had told us a few years ago that we’d be comparing Hyundai’s specs to the RS7 Performance, we’d have called them crazy. Yet, we did it. The Audi’s 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 makes 621 hp and 627 lb-ft (850 Nm) of torque. In comparison, the Ioniq 5 N makes 641 hp and 568 lb-ft (770 Nm) with Boost mode enabled. Both cars are all-wheel drive.

In the first race, the Hyundai driver got off to a poor start, while Matt Watson in the Audi took a small lead. The N did manage to close the gap, but was unable to pass the RS7 before the quarter-mile mark. The second race was more intense, with both drivers coming off the starting line at extremely fast speeds. This time, the Hyundai had a slight advantage and took a small victory.

The third and final race was also very close, but the Korean EV took the win once again. Both cars crossed the finish line in 11.3 seconds, but the Hyundai was slightly better. This result is even more impressive considering that the Ioniq 5 N tested was wearing Pirelli P Zero rubber, which is not as sticky as the Continental SportContact 7 tires on the RS7 Performance.