Seat will show off two new racing cars at the 2013 Wörthersee tuning show, the annual event celebrating hot hatches from the VW Group. The Leon Cup Racer is our first look at Seat’s plans for a touring car version of the new Leon, while the Ibiza Trophy is the latest version of the track-ready supermini, boasting more power than the road car, and the facelifted styling.
Tell me about the Seat Leon Cup Racer
Visually, it’s a Leon turned up to 11. The massive wheelarch extensions add 40cm of width to the standard Leon bodyshell, and house lightweight 18in wheels. There’s a new front splitter and huge rear wing combo for high-speed downforce.
There’s a lot more power too. Under the bonnet is a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine, developing 325bhp. All that power (nearly 150bhp more than that of a road-going Leon 1.8TSI) is transmitted to the track via the front wheels only, using a six-speed DSG gearbox and an electronically locking front differential. The brakes have been upgraded with four-piston calipers all round.
If you want to take your Leon Cup endurance racing, Seat will fit a mechanical front differential and a sequential racing transmission with a shift lever rather than paddles. The endurance version will cost you £96,000, and the regular car a little less, at £70,800. Both cars are expected to be made available to customers for the 2014 race season. Seat bosses have also confirmed they’ll build a 1.6-litre engine version of the Leon Cup to enter the World Touring Car Championship.
And what’s the story with the new Ibiza Trophy?
Although it looks less outrageous than the widebody Leon, the facelifted Ibiza Trophy still packs a punch: the stripped-out hot hatch has 197bhp from its 1.4-litre turbo motor (19bhp more than the turbocharger and supercharged road car) and uses a mechanical front differential and six-speed DSG gearbox. It’ll race in Seat’s one-make Ibiza Trophy series in Europe, and cost £31,800.
Seat isn’t just plotting new racing cars though. Click here for CAR’s scoop on the new Seat Leon Cupra – the new hot hatch that’s set to be faster and cheaper than the Golf GTI. Meanwhile, a hotter Golf GTI could be on its way to Wörthersee: check out CAR’s story here.