Not long ago, the Seat Leon Cupra was the front-wheel-drive performance car to beat around Germany's treacherous Nürburgring Nordschleife. Whether as a hatchback or wagon, the Spanish-built Leon Cupra could lap the famed track in just under eight minutes. Nothing moves slowly on the 'Ring, however, and it didn't take long for the likes of the Honda Civic Type R, Renault Megane RS, and Volkswagen Golf GTI Clubsport to knock the Leon Cupra off its front-drive pedestal at the track. No matter, riding its Nürburgring record's publicity wave, Seat broke out the Cupra name for a standalone performance brand in 2018—and the Formentor SUV is its first creation.
Okay, so technically the Cupra brand launched last year with a sportier creation of the Seat Ateca SUV, and just last week, Cupra revealed new warmed-over versions of the existing Leon hatchback and wagon. But the Formentor is the first product designed from the ground up by Cupra. Named after a cape on the Spanish island of Mallorca, and not, as you might have thought, some kind of demonic spirit, the Formentor is about the same size as a Subaru Crosstrek (175.2 inches long and 72.4 inches wide) but decidedly more potent. Its top powertrain offering is a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder making 306 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque. (The Subaru, meanwhile, is reportedly upgrading to—get this—a 170-hp engine. Oh boy!) In the Formentor, that mighty four is paired with all-wheel drive.
SEATs three conquests of the 2L FIA title, and the sport's popularity in Spain, convinced Volkswagen Group management to go further, and allocate sufficient budgets to the SEAT Sport department so as to allow it a chance to reach its goal. SEAT's project to build a WRC-spec car was officially announced during the 1997 San Remo rally. It was in 1998 that the SEAT Córdoba WRC was first enrolled by the company to compete at the highest level of WRC racing. The Córdoba was based on the family saloon of the same name but was, naturally, a WRC class car. It had a 4 cylinder turbocharged petrol engine, permanent four-wheel drive, and active differentials were involved in its transmission. However, the short wheelbase and high-mounted engine (compared to its rivals) worked against the Córdoba, and results weren't impressive. The main drivers were ex-WRC champion Didier Auriol, along with Harri Rovanpera and rising Finnish star Toni Gardemeister. They did achieve three podium finishes; at the 1999 Rally New Zealand (Gardemeister), the 1999 Rally of Great Britain (Rovanpera) as well as the 2000 Safari Rally (Auriol). SEAT pulled out of international rallying at the end of 2000.
Design-wise, the Formentor's copper accents and angular LED light signature is in line with the Cupra brand's established aesthetic and similar to that of the Ateca and Leon. The crossover is particularly attractive from the profile view thanks to steeply raked glass on the liftgate and a daylight opening that kicks up sharply at the C-pillar. The first Cupra Formentor SUVs will be delivered in the last quarter of 2020. Sadly, you won't be able to buy one in the U.S., but the innovations coming to the Formentor could trickle down to other Volkswagen Group products that do come here, none of which are likely to have a name as badass as the Cupra's, however.
On this page, CCarPrice in providing best Cupra Vehicle Prices in New Zealand by 2024.
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