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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.

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 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]

Click image to see high res gallery of this unbelievable car!

The Seat Leon is a holy terror on the European touring car circuit, but bad luck and driver error can often mean less than perfect results. So the team has been hard at work creating a virtual interface for the vehicle to take the human error out of the equation. By eliminating the driver, the car can be driven remotely and consistent fast laps are a virtual certainty. It's really unbelievable that nobody has been able to accomplish such a feat before now. And the way in which they've done it makes it look like child's play. In fact, it's as easy as driving a remote control car. No driver means less weight, so it's likely the team will have to carry ballast to make it more realistic competition -- a lot of it if it's supposed to simulate team manager and remote-control jockey Scott Dennis, according to driver Jason Plato). If they didn't, they'd be toying with the rest of the field.

Plato and fellow Seat Sport UK driver Darren Turner aren't too keen on the robotic car, but Scott Dennis says that they'd better get used to it. The advanced electronic system uses computers to replicate driver inputs while controlled from the comfort of the pits by Dennis. Dubbed the Telematics Remote-Information Control Kit, it is sure to surprise more than a few other drivers when it debuts April 1 at the season-opening race at Brands Hatch. The other teams would be foolish not to hop on board and try the TRICK system themselves.

Full release after the jump.

[Source: SEAT Sport UK]

On July 18 at the British International Motor Show, VW-owned Spanish automaker SEAT will unveil the new Leon Cupra for the very first time. The company's smartly-styled hatchbacks are always a visual treat, and this one should be no exception.

For now, we have to settle for a teaser photo that gives us a small peek at the car. While we have a couple of weeks to go before we get an official look, spy photos of an undisguised Cupra during cold-weather testing show that it's quite a head-turner. We look forward to the unveiling with great interest.

Similarly, the company is being secretive (for now) about the car's specs, but did offer up one nugget: Cupra will be powered by the VW Group's 2.0T FSI four-cylinder, which will produce over 225 horsepower. Hot hatch, indeed!

Joining the Cupra at the SEAT display will be the Leon FR, Altea FR, Ibiza, Toledo and the Alhambra minivan, as well as two of its race cars.

(Press release and photos of the other Seats mentioned after the jump.)

[Source: SEAT]

Autoblog Spanish has full coverage of the debut of SEAT's new competitor in the hot hatch wars, the Leon FR, courtesy of our man in Madrid, Alberto Ballestin. We're posting a few of his live shots here, the full set of pics is online here.

According to What Car? Volkswagen's Spanish subsidiary is pricing its 197 hp FR at $31,910 USD, about $5,630 less than VW's GTI, which uses the same TFSI 2-liter engine.

SEAT announced that an even hotter 240 hp version of the Leon, the Cupra, will debut in July at the British Motor Show.

More photos after the jump!

[Sources: Autoblog Spanish, What Car?]