The third-generation Hyundai i30 was unveiled at the 2016 Paris Motor Show, introducing a new design language for the brand. Within this generation, Hyundai developed the i30 N as a performance-oriented hot hatch, and Hyundai Motorsport subsequently adapted the model for TCR competition. The i30 shared its platform with the Kia Ceed and was designed and engineered at the Hyundai Motor Europe Technical Centre in Rüsselsheim, Germany.
Hyundai Motorsport's entry into the TCR category represented the Korean manufacturer's commitment to touring car racing as a means of developing performance car credentials for road-going models. The i30 N TCR was the first of what would become a succession of Hyundai TCR cars over the following years.
The i30 N TCR was raced by various customer teams from the 2017 season. In 2018, the car achieved its greatest success when Gabriele Tarquini, competing with M Racing-YMR, won the World Touring Car Cup Drivers' title. Tarquini, an experienced touring car veteran who had previously won the 2009 WTCC title at the wheel of a SEAT León TDI, secured the 2018 WTCR crown with the i30 N TCR. In the same season, M Racing-YMR also won the Teams' title.
In 2019, Tarquini's teammate Norbert Michelisz won the WTCR Drivers' Championship, also with the i30 N TCR, giving Hyundai back-to-back drivers' titles in the series during the car's competitive lifespan.
A version of the i30 was also developed for Next Generation Touring Car regulations for competition in the British Touring Car Championship, debuting in 2020. This version, titled the i30 Fastback N Performance, brought further success to Hyundai's touring car programme; Tom Ingram drove the car to the BTCC Drivers' Championship in both 2022 and 2025.
The i30 N TCR was built to TCR specifications, which mandate a turbocharged 2.0-litre engine, front-wheel drive, and standardised aerodynamic parameters. The car used the same category of sequential gearbox as other TCR competitors, and was sold as a customer racing package through Hyundai Motorsport's customer racing department. Like all TCR cars, it was subject to Balance of Performance regulations administered by the series promoter.
The i30 N TCR was followed by the Hyundai Veloster N TCR and subsequently the Hyundai Elantra N TCR, introduced in 2021. The Elantra N TCR was described by Hyundai Motorsport as starting from a completely blank sheet of paper while leveraging more than two years of racing experience gained with the i30 N TCR and Veloster N TCR. The i30 N TCR's two WTCR titles in 2018 and 2019 remain the most prominent results in the car's career.