During last week's international launch of the SEAT Leon ST Cupra, CompleteCar.ie got an insight into the Spanish firm's plans for its smaller Ibiza Cupra model.
Although still in development, the car is due to receive an update later this year that will include an upgrade to the 1.4-litre turbocharged engine, which will see power increase from 180hp to a more potent 200hp. Along with the increased power output SEAT will offer the Ibiza Cupra with a manual transmission for the first time.
In addition to this, according to Dr. Michael Hinz, Head of Technical Project at SEAT, the Ibiza model will also come in for some significant interior updates. He went on to say that much of the focus on updating the now five-year-old Ibiza will centre on interior design, while the exterior is ageing well enough only to require slight changes.
Anything else?
The growth of performance models from SEAT doesn't look to be stopping at the Leon ST Cupra. Our sources have said that SEAT is toying with the idea of launching an all-wheel drive Cupra to rival the Volkswagen Golf R. Although still undergoing evaluation in the prototype stages, the car is believed to have upwards of 300hp in a bid to not only trump the powerful Volkswagen, but also to overcome the 30kg weight penalty carried by using an all-wheel drive system.
As well as this, it has also been hinted that there is desire within SEAT's Cupra headquarters to produce a limited-run, lightweight Leon Cupra similar to the Renault Sport Megane Trophy-R. The possibility of such a car is still being debated internally both in terms of whether the Cupra brand is desirable enough and to the commercial viability of such a car. If it does get the green light, the Cupra R would see modest power gains but increased levels of performance through a stripped-out interior and a higher level of lightweight performance parts. Such a car may be held back towards the end of the model cycle, or until SEAT can reclaim its Nurburgring lap record.