SEAT Leon Cupra R

[danbld]

Say hello to the King of Leons! SEAT’s fastest and most powerful production car ever, the Leon Cupra R, will be unleashed on UK roads on April 1. This rather mean looking creature will storm from 0-62mph in just 6.2 seconds thanks to a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine boasting 261bhp.

Even more impressive is the monumental torque figure of 350Nm at just 2,500rpm which blitzes the majority of the Cupra R’s hot-hatch rivals including the Renaultsport Megane 250.

Power is channelled to the front wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox – though SEAT is considering the DSG unit seen on other VW Group products but is wary of the Cupra R becoming too similar to the Scirocco R.

The two cars are remarkably similar in performance as they share the same engine. However, the Leon has a couple of real-world advantages as it features five doors for added practicality, and is lighter than the Scirocco, helping both performance and economy - the R boasts CO2 figures of 190 g/km and returns 34.9mpg.

Exterior styling tweaks come in the form of twin centrally mounted exhausts emerging from a gloss black diffuser and are joined by an extended high level rear spoiler and subtle ‘R’ badging.

A range of striking new paint colours, including metallic ‘Tribu’ yellow seen here, compliment the 19-inch, twin 5-spoke Potenza alloys, whilst inside quilted leather bucket-style sports seats and gloss black seat backs with ‘R’ logos provide a suitably sporty feel.