CUPRAS RATED

Autocar has been road testing Cupra-branded models for more than two decades, while our dedication to driving sporty Seats goes back as far as 1976. From the 1200 Sport that marked the beginning of Seat HQ in Martorell to the Leon Cupra R launched earlier this year, Seat’s performance offerings have gone from strength to strength. Here are some of the highlights. 1976 SEPTEMBER

While not strictly a Cupra, the Seat 1200 Sport, road tested by Autocar in September 1976, demonstrated the Spanish car maker’s intent to become a sporty brand. At that time Seats still used Fiat parts, but the 1200 Sport was notable because all of its development was carried out at Seat’s new technical centre at Martorell — the site that is Seat’s base today. Autocar described the sports coupé as “excellent as a driver’s car… with good handling and a willing engine but mediocre gearchange”. The car wasn’t sold in Britain but our testers noted at the time that “it might do well in Britain at the right price”.

1997 AUGUST

We tested the first Cupra-badged Seat, the Ibiza Cupra Sport 2.0 16V, in March 1997. Five months later we subjected it to a comparison test against the Peugeot 106 GTI, Nissan Almera GTI, Audi A3 1.8T and the VW Golf GTI. “If you like your thrills raw, the Cupra Sport is as bare-to-the-bones as it gets,” began our description of the Cupra model. Our testers determined that the talents of the £14,595 car were best suited to the track, adding that you need “to be a pretty committed driving nut” to enjoy the Ibiza Cupra Sport 2.0 16V. We reckoned a 0-60mph time of 8.0sec was realistic for the 150bhp hot hatch.

2002 FEBRUARY

The Leon 20VT, which later became the Leon Cupra, launched in 1999. Three years later, Seat launched the even hotter version, the first Leon Cupra R, which the car maker claimed was “the most powerful front-drive car in its class” at the time. We said the engine was “hugely flexible”, while “it really gets into its stride from 3000rpm, with huge mid-range urge and a hard rasp from the revised exhaust”. The car’s real trump card, however, was its handling. We concluded by saying the R “makes a strong case on comfort against a Civic Type R, on pace and kit against a Golf GTI and on value against an Impreza WRX”.

2009 OCTOBER

The Mk5 Ibiza Cupra featured in road test number 4931 in 2009. It produced 178bhp, taking the output of the VW Group’s then turbocharged and supercharged 1.4 TSI unit to “new levels”. A standard seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission and paddle shifters on the steering wheel were supermini firsts. Editor-at-large Matt Prior described the Ibiza Cupra as “a practical, good-value supermini” with “style and speed in abundance”. We also liked the comfortable cabin and supple ride. This Ibiza Cupra also resurrected the Bocanegra name as a limited-edition styling pack. The Spanish phrase dates back to the Seat 1200 Sport (see left), which gained the ‘blackmouth’ nickname thanks to its black plastic bumpers.

2018 FEBRUARY

Autocar scooped plans to launch Cupra as a standalone brand in 2017; in February this year Seat confirmed those plans and revealed the first car under the new badge, the Cupra Ateca. We published full details of the car, which is celebrated in these pages, including its 296bhp engine and 19in wheels. Contributing editor Mike Duff noted that by splitting from Seat, “Cupra models will be able to stretch further”.

2014 MARCH

The third-generation Leon marked a turning point for the Seat brand when the car launched in 2012. The first Cupra variant of that model impressed, too, outranking the Volkswagen Golf GTI of the time in Autocar’s road test. Tested in Leon Cupra SC 280 DSG form, Matt Saunders wrote: “In terms of sheer speed, it has nothing to fear from any rival.” Although it didn’t come out at the top of the hot hatch pile, Saunders concluded: “There’s much to like about the Cupra 280, not least a great deal of good old-fashioned bang for your buck of the kind that hot hatch devotees ought to respond to very positively indeed.”

2018 APRIL

Seat’s most powerful car to date, the latest Cupra R, was pitched against the Honda Civic Type R in April this year as we considered how well the ultra-rare 306bhp hot hatch (of 799 produced, only 24 were allocated to the UK) would fare against its already well-received Japanese rival. After flowing the Cupra R through a few choice British bends, road tester Richard Lane described how “you’re greeted by what is arguably its métier”, going on to explain that the steering rack has been quickened and has a “crisp levity to it”. Lane also commended the “absurdly talented” four-cylinder engine. “Its peak torque of 280lb ft arrives at only 1800rpm and yet the same level of twist is still flooding through the gearbox at 5700rpm”.

THE THIRD-GENERATION LEON MARKED A TURNING POINT FOR SEAT