SEAT preview new Leon Cupra and Ibiza FR ahead of Barcelona Motorshow

[ZBOYD]

Z ive heard they may be releasing something special too, am i to say or not?

Can do if you want to, neither of us are official spokesmen for SEAT.

I've heard a few murmurings of something special, but as yet there are no real solid details other than a bit of random chatter about the potential re-emergence of the Cupra R brand.

However on another tangent, some of the press have already claimed that SEAT will unveil a production ready version of the Ibiza Bocanegra at Barcelona in May.

As a complete theory on my part. Maybe what SEAT are doing is introducing the Bocanegra name as their 'something special' brand.

Hey, if it's good enough for supermarkets.

 

[warren_cox]

Hey, if it's good enough for supermarkets.

Hmmm. If they could introduce it by March 2010 that would be handy

Bocanegra - does that translate to black mouth?

 

[FSiLeonMike]

Now, before anyone picks holes, photchops ain't my strong point, but the SEAT stylers could've spent and extra 10 mins at the PC, and come up with something just a little different from the FR. But still call it a facelift!

 

[skahigh]

Now, before anyone picks holes, photchops ain't my strong point, but the SEAT stylers could've spent and extra 10 mins at the PC, and come up with something just a little different from the FR. But still call it a facelift!

HA! Dodgy chop as that is its still a better effort than SEAT have made.

 

[FSiLeonMike]

HA! Dodgy chop as that is its still a better effort than SEAT have made.

Like I said, chops ain't my strong point, but just a slightly different lower grille and spotlights, and the car could have been sooooooooooooooooooo different, with little effort

 

[skahigh]

Like I said, chops ain't my strong point, but just a slightly different lower grille and spotlights, and the car could have been sooooooooooooooooooo different, with little effort

Yours is alot prettier mate.

 

[FSiLeonMike]

Yours is alot prettier mate.

Cheers mate, really ought to thank Ford for the Focus shaped grille, and Kia for the Pro'Ceed style spots

 

[ArosaRacer]

im told there may be a wtcc edition released very soon then the new cupra r

 

[Faisal]

subtle tweaks..not bad but not too exciting..

 

[ZBOYD]

Now, before anyone picks holes, photchops ain't my strong point, but the SEAT stylers could've spent and extra 10 mins at the PC, and come up with something just a little different from the FR. But still call it a facelift!

Good job you didn't go into car design.

 

[FSiLeonMike]

Good job you didn't go into car design.

Wasn't offering the design to SEAT, just making the point that their (more skilled than me) designers could have made it just a little different, so it stood out, with very little effort.

 

[FSiLeonMike]

Good job you didn't go into car design.

Good job you're not a diplomat

 

[RobDon]

Very dull, bland, boring and characterless. They need to bring out a 300bhp WTCC version with bulging arches, spoilers, bonnet vents just like the Focus RS - only better!

 

[Syphon]

I think this was widely believed to be the case, but according to several SEAT people this is in fact untrue about Honda kicking up a fuss.

Indeed. That rumour is a load of crap.

Scott

 

[m0rk]

im told there may be a wtcc edition released very soon then the new cupra r

LMAO

I doubt it - the UK market barely recognises WTCC, so the effort would be lost on them

It'll be another Aerokitesque special edition, the volumes wouldn't payback the tooling & costs involved in making a new model

 

[FSiLeonMike]

Even the Aero kit was "given away free" on the "Reference Sport" in 2007, just as a marketing ploy to shift some units. Build it into the cost, so it looks free, make some money back on the tooling before the K1 was released.
They were never gonna sell enough K1's to cover the cost of tooling.

 

[SEAT UK PR]

Hi guys. There is no copyright issue with the 'R' moniker, so it is always a possibility that we can use it again.

In answer to some comments about the changes being quite subtle, you'll have noticed that historically SEAT mid-life revisions are rarely radical. I think the most dramatic it's got in modern times was the Arosa. One major advantage to subtle visual tweaks is that they don't obliterate residual values of the original versions. Plus, the design of the Leon was pretty much perfect to begin with of course...

Addition of XDS is a big boom - I've experienced it and it really tightens up the already keen handling.

 

[Al]

Hi guys. There is no copyright issue with the 'R' moniker, so it is always a possibility that we can use it again.

In answer to some comments about the changes being quite subtle, you'll have noticed that historically SEAT mid-life revisions are rarely radical. I think the most dramatic it's got in modern times was the Arosa. One major advantage to subtle visual tweaks is that they don't obliterate residual values of the original versions. Plus, the design of the Leon was pretty much perfect to begin with of course...

Addition of XDS is a big boom - I've experienced it and it really tightens up the already keen handling.

I have a question for you sir.

Why have SEAT insisted on keeping the FR and Cupra so similar with regard to looks?

I am trying to imagine if the new Focus RS would have had the same fanfare if it looked like the ST but with all the changes hidden like the Cupra has over the FR which incidentally is a lot less than the RS has over the ST.

ST

RS

It is very disappointing that the FR is 10bhp closer to the Cupra now and still looks the same IMO.

Also, with this facelift, have SEAT finally disposed of those awful Aero bumpers to the skip or can we expect to see them again too?

 

[markmeus]

I quite like the aero Leons!

 

[ZBOYD]

The £25,000 plus estimated asking price on the Focus RS must have some bearing on the differences.

FR and Cupra are not that far apart in overall costs. I believe the Focus ST comes in at a similar price to a Leon Cupra.

One of the big benefits of SEAT's to the customer is the value for money aspect for sure. From a purely business point of view are SEAT better coming in under the big brands like Ford, Vauxhall, even VW?

Increasing those prices to bring them into the price realm of the competition might produce a pretty lairy and desirable product, however question is would it still sway people away from those Focus RS's, VW GTi's if they had to cough up the same amount of money?