has proven itself to be a heavy hitter in today’s auto market. The Korean automaker offers an impressive range of vehicles, from affordable hatchbacks and crossovers to sports cars and SUVs you’d more easily compare to luxury models than to economy-class fare.

But it wasn’t always that way. When Hyundai arrived in the U.S. in 1986, they entered the market in the same way as a lot of other automakers from Asia: by offering cheaply made cars for low prices. Consumers quickly labelled the brand as affordable but boring.

To catch up with the big three

Japanese automakers

—Toyota, Nissan, and Honda—Hyundai needed to do something to improve its image, and offering a two-door couple seemed like a good way to do that. But becoming cool wasn’t that easy.

Hyundai’s long road to success in the U.S

In the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, sporty two-door coupes were all the rage, making brands like Volkswagen and Honda hip in the eyes of young people again. Donut Media says Hyundai wanted a piece of that action, so they developed the Scoupe.

The Scoupe was mostly just a redesigned exterior built on the company’s first offering to the U.S., the Excel. It shared the economy box’s cheap frame and sluggish engine, and a turbo version didn’t actually make things much better.

But the Scoupe eventually inspired Hyundai to take performance and sport seriously. A series of hatchbacks and sports coupes were developed over the years, and in 2014, the automaker began laying the groundwork for their own high performance brand, N.

MORE: Was the Hyundai Tiburon Really the Worst Sports Car Ever?

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Models with Hyundai’s N badge

Much like the heritage German car manufacturers BMW and Mercedes, Hyundai slaps their ‘N’ label on the high performance versions of their vehicles. Three of the company’s current U.S. offerings are available as N cars.

The model with the most obvious connection to the Scoupe is the Veloster N, a “hot hatch” with 275 horsepower. Essentially, the Veloster N is what the Scoupe should’ve been from the start.

You can also get an N version of the four-door Elantra and the Kona, a subcompact crossover, but the real prize from Hyundai’s high performance division might but its next release.

For the 2023 model year, the company is launching a brand new coupe, the RM20 N. The mid-engine sports car is expected to challenge Porsches and Corvettes while starting for a mere $40,000.

Do Hyundai N cars cost more to insure?

MORE:

Hyundai Dominates Every Other Automaker When It Comes to New Tech

You might assume that the power and performance that comes with an ‘N’ badge will automatically raise the price of coverage for a Hyundai, but the reality isn’t that simple.

Other factors like model year and coverage provider change the cost of

car insurance

for Hyundais much more than the trim level or amount of horsepower.

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