The CUPRA TCR was the first racing car of the new CUPRA brand in 2018. It was an evolution of the Leon Cup Racer, born in 2013 as the car for a drivers’ promotional cup and which ended up being the world reference in touring car racing… (read more)
Years: 2018-2020
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: 350 CV at 6200 rpm
Max. torque: 420 Nm at 2500 rpm
Front-wheel drive, mechanical limited slip differential
Gearbox: Sequential 6-speed
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
Weight: 1120 kg
The CUPRA TCR was the first racing car of the new CUPRA brand in 2018. It was an evolution of the Leon Cup Racer, born in 2013 as the car for a drivers’ promotional cup and which ended up being the 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.
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 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.
That first year, the CUPRA TCR scored no less than 53 victories in the TCR category, and Mikel Azcona won the TCR Europe for the first time. Today the Basque driver is a works CUPRA driver in WTCR and Pure E-TCR. For him, the Leon Eurocup (he finished third in 2015 and runner-up in 2016) was a springboard to professional motorsports.
However, perhaps the most emotional success of the CUPRA TCR in 2018 was the TCR victory in the Barcelona 24 Hours, at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. In an endurance race that demanded maximum effort from cars and drivers alike, the CUPRA TCR won with a mixed team formed by Laia Sanz (then CUPRA ambassador), Alba Cano, Francesc Gutiérrez and Jordi Gené (SEAT and CUPRA works test driver).
The saga of the first CUPRA TCR ended in 2020, when the Leon’s fourth generation was launched. Based on the new car, CUPRA Racing developed the CUPRA Leon Competicion, which made its debut in mid-2020 (with a victory in TCR Italy) to continue the historic run of success of the first Leon Cup Racer and the CUPRA TCR.
