Autoblog

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Audi metroproject quattro Concept.

Buyers of the next generation of Volkswagen-developed small cars will have one more option box to tick when placing their order: all-wheel-drive. The new platform, dubbed PQ25, will find its way underneath a handful of new models, spanning the range from the low-end (SEAT), mid-grade (VW) and luxury (Audi). All-wheel-drive won't be an option for the new SEAT Ibiza, but consumers of the next VW Polo (specifically the CrossPolo) might be able to outfit their tiny runabout with AWD, while the Audi A1, due out in late 2009, will continue the automaker's love affair with quattro.


[Source: Automotive News – sub. req'd]

Click image to enlarge

The SEAT Leon Supercopa series that visits tracks in seven European countries is, according to SEAT, "the most powerful single-brand competition in Europe." In celebration of the series, Seat is making a special edition SEAT Leon Copa Edition that arguably looks even hotter than the race car.

The 2007 race car had a turbocharged inline 4 with 301 horsepower. The special edition version for the street gets the 2.0-liter TFSI, putting out 285 hp and 265 lb-ft. That means you get sixteen fewer chevaux than the race car, but fourteen more pounds of churn. With Eibach springs, bigger brakes, a SEAT Sport bodykit and 18" wheels, the package is good for a 5.9-second run to 62-MPH. If you want one, you'll need to scrounge up €38,500, and you'll need to hurry: SEAT is only making 55 of them. Oh, and you'll need to live in Europe, too.

[Source: Zer Customs]

Click above for more high-res shots of the SEAT Leon Cupra

Draw up a list of the top hot-hatches in the world. The SEAT Leon Cupra may not be on it – although it might be – but the Volkswagen GTI will most definitely. At least it should, because the GTI is a performance icon, forged over decades of performance tempered with versatility and accessibility. And the current-generation GTI certainly lives up to the legend, burning rubber with the best Germany has to offer. But if this article is about the SEAT Leon Cupra, then why are we talking about the Volkswagen GTI? What do they have in common? Well, almost everything. Almost.

Click above to view more of the SEAT Ibiza unveiling in hi-res

Just yesterday we brought you news of the new SEAT Ibiza. Previewed by the black-mouthed Bocanegtra concept unveiled in Geneva, the new Ibiza itself previews the subtle change in direction to SEAT's design language, incorporating sharp intersecting lines with a more crowd-pleasing grille. European customers, however, will have to wait a little longer to see the 3-door versions, as well as for the high-performance Cupra model.

In the meantime, the Spanish Volkswagen subsidiary has now unleashed a whole corral of images of the new five-door hatch, plus a video of the car from every angle. Unveiling at the SEAT facility on the outskirts of Barcelona, the new Ibiza will have its motor show debut in Madrid late next month and will hit European markets shortly thereafter. Click on the thumbnails below to see all the images in alta resolución and follow the jump for el vídeo.


[Source: SEAT]

Click image for a high-res gallery of the new SEAT Ibiza

SEAT, the Spanish manufacturer owned by Volkswagen, teased Geneva Motor Show visitors this year with the 3-door Bocanegra concept car. Today it unveiled the production version, which, as expected, takes on the Ibiza nameplate. The attractive 5-door had a lot of work done at the plastic surgeon's office, as the old car's bland lines have been transformed completely. Flat is definitely out, and the pair of diagonal character lines first shown on Bocanegra now adorn the new compact. In front, the Ibiza wears a new face -- one that European shoppers should get used to, as it's likely to trickle through to other SEATs over time. The most obvious change is the wider, more traditional-looking grille, which helps to mainstream the SEAT's appearance compared to the quirky faces you'll find on some of its stablemates.

UPDATE: New high-res images added to gallery


[Source: SEAT]

While it sister company Audi continues to forge ahead in Le Mans-class racing under diesel power, the SEAT division is likewise launching an assault on the British Touring Car Championship with an oil-burning Leon TDI. The Spanish automaker is also launching a special edition Leon for the road to coincide with its competition counterpart's race debut.

Mechanically, the limited-edition Leon FR550 is largely the same as the standard FR – one rung down on the SEAT performance ladder from the top-of-the-line Cupra – powered by the same two-liter turbodiesel on the Leon FR TDI. The details are what set the FR550 apart, carrying such touches as racing-style buckets seats, special badging, USB connectivity, 18-inch "Draco" alloys and a range of special colors. The turbodiesel Leon FR will hit sixty in 8.2 and return 39.2 mpg city/47 mpg highway. If they act fast enough, British customers can pick up one of the 550 examples of the FR550 being offered at a £400 premium over the standard version.

[Source: CarScoop]

Click above for high-res gallery of the SEAT Bocanegra Concept

SEAT is set to unveil the Bocanegra Concept tomorrow during the first press day of the 2008 Geneva Motor Show, and it previews the upcoming replacement for the production Ibiza model. For those familiar with the rather homely looking Ibiza, the Bocanegra (which literally means "black mouth") should be a welcome portent of things to come. SEAT, a subsidiary of Volkswagen, was always supposed to be the Kia to Volkswagen's Hyundai, but has not done a great job of mixing performance and low prices together. Well, it got the latter down. The Bocanegra Concept, however, sports an aggressive, expressive design that, while not altogether original (we see Euro Focus and BMW 1-Series cues), is a major leap forward for the Spanish brand. Sources say the concept's sheetmetal is pretty darn close to what the production model will be when it debuts later this year at the Madrid Motor Show, and the hatch will also be offered in a five-door version. The concept interior, however, will likely be warmed over for production. Expect a full smattering of motors that you would also find in any small VW on sale in Europe.


[Source: Autoblog Spanish]

Click image for a hi-res gallery of the SEAT Leon Cupra K¹

Every so often, we wish that Volkswagen's SEAT brand was available here in the US. Sure, the Spanish automaker's vehicles are badge-engineering exercises that raid the corporate partsbin for powertrains, switchgear, and the like, but their styling is unique and some of the packages have definite appeal.

Take, for instance, the just-announced UK-market Leon Cupra K¹. With the stylish Leon Cupra as its base, the K¹ adds an appearance package that is, to put it plainly, pretty bitchin'. Intended to make the car look more like the Cupra BTCC racers, the kit includes new front and rear treatments, side skirts, and a sweet-looking center-exit exhaust. We think the K¹ kit is actually better-looking than the BTCC bodywork. Like its standard-bodied counterpart, the K¹ gets power from a 240 PS (236 HP) version of VW's 2.0 TFSI four-cylinder. That's good enough to give the Cupra a top speed of 153 mph. Hot hatch, indeed.

Press release with UK pricing after the jump.


[Source: SEAT]

SEAT has some ambitious plans. The Spanish subsidiary of Volkswagen is targeting a twofold increase in sales from 400,000 to 800,000 units by 2018, but currently has a line-up of seven models that, for the most part, are little more than rebodied VWs with a poorer reputation. While speaking with the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, SEAT CEO Erich Schmitt outlined an aggressive expansion plan that involves cutting down its workforce, reducing manufacturing times, drastically broadening its model range and improving the brand's image.

Having recently laid-off 900 workers, Schmitt says his company needs to trim another 700. Production time for the next-generation Ibiza hatchback will be cut down to 18 hours, compared to the 27 it takes to assemble the current version. But here's the kicker: Schmitt says that its model line-up will more than double from the current seven to fifteen by 2012 and shoot up to forty by 2018. Yes, you read that right: 40 models. We don't know how Schmitt is counting (trim levels?), but 40 models is closer to the total range of the whole Volkswagen Group than it is to SEAT's own product range.

[Source: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung via Carscoop]

Among Volkswagen subsidiaries, Skoda won't be hogging all the attention at the Geneva auto show. While the Czech division will be showing its second-generation Superb flagship, Seat is tipped to be unveiling the replacement for its entry-level Ibiza hatchback at the Swiss show in March.

While other automakers oftentimes opt to show the sportier three-door version of their compact hatchbacks to garner more attention, the model Seat will show in Switzerland is expected to be the five-door hatch, while the three-door is anticipated to debut later in the year. Styling is expected to follow the lead of its Seat stable-mates, as seen in the renderings above and at right, courtesy of our compadres over at Autoblog Spanish.

The Seat Ibiza is the Spanish division's bread-and-butter model and accounts for a whopping 40% of its sales worldwide, and with the current model Seat hopes to solidify its place in the Volkswagen hierarchy.

[Source: paultan.org and Autoblog Spanish]