Abt....for £500!!
- Thread starter Deano j1971
- Start date
Can you solve an unanswered question for me.
Assuming your in the UK, does the car have ACC + Driver assistance aids ??
I’m not going to see mine until Friday as don’t want to spoil the ‘covers off moment’.
Scared to ask my dealer as I used the fact it hasn’t got it on spec sheet to get further discounts !!!
Oh and please tell us what the car is like
Reading an article today on JCT600, happened to notice the below wording about insurance;
"The option to upgrade for £500 you can increase the power to 370PS and add an ABT tuning pack, reducing the 0-62mph to 4.5 seconds without impacting the homologation status (insurance rated)."
Firstly, that sounds odd for insurance to just not bat an eyelid, and secondly doesn't follow your issues with insurance?
EDIT - Link - https://www.jct600.co.uk/news/seat-announce-fastest-ever-leon-cupra-r-st/20084/newsdetail.aspx
*****Official response from director of SEAT UK*****
So I've been with Richard Harrison director of SEAT UK last night and today, I've directly asked him the question that everybody wants to know, will SEAT offer a retrofit of ABT tune that will keep the warranty?
Richards response was currently NOT, SEAT UK will only offer warranty to the cars that have the ABT tune ordered at time of ordering, At the moment there is no plans to allow a retrofit, not to say in the future they wont but currently its not planned, he did say its been hard to get SEAT ES to allow this with factory warranty backing, so the current 150 Cupra R ST are a trial period.
He has also mentioned that a Cupra Ateca ABT is planned.
So I've been with Richard Harrison director of SEAT UK last night and today, I've directly asked him the question that everybody wants to know, will SEAT offer a retrofit of ABT tune that will keep the warranty?
Richards response was currently NOT, SEAT UK will only offer warranty to the cars that have the ABT tune ordered at time of ordering, At the moment there is no plans to allow a retrofit, not to say in the future they wont but currently its not planned, he did say its been hard to get SEAT ES to allow this with factory warranty backing, so the current 150 Cupra R ST are a trial period.
He has also mentioned that a Cupra Ateca ABT is planned.
Firstly, thank you for confirming.
As someone that would be very keen to acquire personally, to be honest this option isn't likely to be in high demand relative to other options across the brand and thus I doubt things will move forward too quickly. I guess one of the main issues is the Year 3 warranty in UK; I believe that manufacturer's warranty only applies for 48 months in mainland EU and is aligned to the ABT warranty - we used to have to pay up front, and then claim back costs from UK for any warranty work for a UK car in its third year of life whilst living in Germany.
The approach that SEAT are using is similar to that with Volvo/Polestar when they first started to sell optional ECU tunes, so let us all hope that the partnership continues and further options are made available in due course similar to some of the VAG franchises in Germany.
As someone that would be very keen to acquire personally, to be honest this option isn't likely to be in high demand relative to other options across the brand and thus I doubt things will move forward too quickly. I guess one of the main issues is the Year 3 warranty in UK; I believe that manufacturer's warranty only applies for 48 months in mainland EU and is aligned to the ABT warranty - we used to have to pay up front, and then claim back costs from UK for any warranty work for a UK car in its third year of life whilst living in Germany.
The approach that SEAT are using is similar to that with Volvo/Polestar when they first started to sell optional ECU tunes, so let us all hope that the partnership continues and further options are made available in due course similar to some of the VAG franchises in Germany.
Can you solve an unanswered question for me.
Assuming your in the UK, does the car have ACC + Driver assistance aids ??
I’m not going to see mine until Friday as don’t want to spoil the ‘covers off moment’.
Scared to ask my dealer as I used the fact it hasn’t got it on spec sheet to get further discounts !!!
Oh and please tell us what the car is like
Yes this car has ACC
So UK gets 3y (36 months) but EU ONLY gets 48 months, are you correct on this?
Based on what else you’ve written, did you mean to put 24 months not 48? As 48 months is 4 years. And I’ve seen ABT warranty as 24 months.
Worth noting the Carbon Edition ABT 370
Sold in Switzerland got a 5 year warranty.
Yes, 2 years/24 months in EU. Sorry for the confusion. Writing in a rush earlier!
Interesting about Switzerland (non-EU).
Interesting about Switzerland (non-EU).
As per my previous post with the email screenshot it looks like Seat have finally gotten their act together and will be renaming the ABT tuned car “Cupra R 4Drive ABT” on insurance databases, removing the reference to power output (that was inaccurate at 370 anyway)
Wether or not this has an increase in insurance premium or not remains to be seen.
I found something else odd today also. My dealer sent across the pre registration document I needed to sign and return, which gets sent to the DVLA for the V5C to be created.
My car is listed at “Cupra R blah blah blah 300PS blah blah blah”
I queried this as it’s now 350PS with the ABT tune.
They replied that as the car left the factory as a 300PS car, that is what the registration document has to say, and that the ABT tune is simply an aftermarket modification.
See attached screenshot for actual wording.
I get the distinct impression Seat have no idea what they are doing with this ABT tune.
Attachments
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9CBB1884-7743-481D-9508-D79D3D97A468.png
No that’s right. The ABT box is a modification, it’s only the UK that is getting the ABT 350 box this way. A lot of Europe already has the ability to upgrade via ABT and keep warranty.
The ABT stuff is done at dealer level. So it maybe homologated for insurance purposes, but is still a modification.
As it’s easy enough for Seat to know whether the car was ordered with it or not. And if a none R ST comes in, more so.
At the risk of sounding grumpy thats all been said before. As for they were initially 370. They were never initially 370, just Seat UK getting it wrong at launch, yet a few people on here including myself already said the car would never have 370 due to WLTP.
The Swiss Carbon Edition with the original none WLTP engine has 370.
At the risk of seeming very very grumpy lol.
370 on the 4drive is quick. But not much of an animal. My previous 280 felt more alive. The 4drive can easily handle up to 400hp. I suspect the 350 will not feel any more alive.
The suspension with the added camber however certainly improves the feel of the car. Mine certainly feels more direct with the extra camber front and rear.
Does anyone know if a dealer demo/pre-reg car would be eligible for ABT add-on when sold on to first private owner ?
The posts above seem to read that you have to option it from initial order.
Therefore you will be paying alot more than £500 for the ABT because a demo/pre-reg could save between £6-£9K compared to a fully spec'd new order RRP.
The posts above seem to read that you have to option it from initial order.
Therefore you will be paying alot more than £500 for the ABT because a demo/pre-reg could save between £6-£9K compared to a fully spec'd new order RRP.
I’d be very surprised that the dealerships didn’t tick that box if it’s a pre registered car. I fully expect all the Cupra R ST’s in the UK to be ABT.
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