SEAT’s Leon Cup Racer was born in 2013 as the car for a one-make SEAT drivers’ promotional cup and ended up being the new world reference in touring car racing… (read more)
Years: 2014-2018
Petrol, 4 cylinders in-line
Position: At front, transversal
Bore x stroke: 82.5 x 92.8 mm
Capacity: 1984 cc
Valve gear: Double overhead camshafts, 4 valves per cylinder
Fuel system: Direct injection, turbo and intercooler
Max. power: 330 CV at 6200 rpm
Max. torque: 400 Nm at 2500 rpm
Drive: Front-wheel drive, optional mechanical limited slip differential
Gearbox: 6-speed DSG, optional 6-speed sequential
Clutch: Multi-disc, oil-cooled
Front suspension:
McPherson struts, lower wishbones, coil springs, hydraulic shock absorbers and anti-roll bar
Rear suspension:
Multi-link, coil springs, hydraulic shock absorbers and anti-roll bar
Steering: Power-assisted rack and pinion
Front: 378 mm ventilated discs with 6-piston brake callipers
Rear: 310 mm ventilated discs with 2-piston brake callipers
9.5” x 18”
Body: 5-door steel monocoque reinforced with integral roll-cage
Length/width: 4363/1950 mm
Wheelbase: 2666 mm
eight: 1120 kg
SEAT’s Leon Cup Racer was born in 2013 as the car for a one-make SEAT drivers’ promotional cup and ended up being the new world reference in touring car racing.
The third generation of the SEAT Leon was unveiled in September 2012, at the Paris Motor Show. Based of the 5-door body, SEAT Sport developed in 2013 a racing car called Leon Cup Racer. The aim was to revive from 2014 the successful Leon Eurocup, which had been held between 2008 and 2010 with the Leon Supercopa II. These were the years when SEAT’s Leon TDI dominated the World Touring Car Championship.
The Leon Eurocup was run for three seasons, from 2014 to 2016. With an average of 30 identical cars on track, Leon Eurocup races were extremely spectacular. Young Catalan driver Pol Rosell was the 2014 and 2015 Eurocup champion, racing in mythical European circuits such as the Nürburgring, Salzburgring, Silverstone, Spa, Monza and the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Dutchman Niels Langeveld was the last winner of the Leon Eurocup, in 2016. That season, young Basque driver Mikel Azcona finished as runner-up, after having already been third in 2015. Today, Azcona is a works CUPRA driver in the WTCR and Pure E-TCR, proving once again the value of SEAT's one-make championships for driver’s promotion.
However, when designing the car for the Leon Eurocup, SEAT Sport engineers went much further and created a true customer-racing car ‒ versatile, powerful, with impressive appearance, refined aerodynamics, smooth underbody, rear diffuser and two-stage rear wing. The turbocharged 2-litre engine delivered 330 HP ‒ a good chunk more than the world champion Leons from just five years earlier!
As if that were not enough, the price of a race-ready Leon Cup Racer was the most competitive. All this led the promoter of the TCR Series international championship to adopt the Leon Cup Racer as the basis for its touring car regulations based on customer teams.
The TCR International Series made its debut in 2015, and the SEAT León Cup Racer raced among the main players, with Pepe Oriola and Jordi Gené second and third in the championship. In 2016, James Nash was again runner-up with a Leon Cup Racer, while SEAT's top team (Craft-Bamboo Lukoil) won the team’s crown.
The emergence of the TCR Series, which added multiple regional and national championships to the international championship, triggered the Leon Cup Racer’s ascendancy, with around 160 units built until 2016.
That year the third and last season of the Leon Eurocup, and from 2017 the Leon Cup Racer went on to compete only in multi-brand touring car championships, since up to eight different brands had embraced the TCR regulations to face the pioneering SEAT car.
To stand up to the fight, at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show SEAT unveiled the Leon Cup Racer Evo 17, with engine power boosted to 350 HP. Then, in 2018 CUPRA took the baton from SEAT Sport and the Leon Cup Racer became the CUPRA TCR.