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SEAT World Touring Car Championship Team with the Leon TDI - Click above for high-res image gallery

If you would have told us ten or twenty years ago that diesel would come to dominate motor racing, we probably would have laughed in your face. But since Audi charted new territory by dominating Le Mans with its R10 TDI, the competition benefits of burning oil is beyond reproach. Not satisfied to let diesel power dominate endurance sportscar racing, however, sister company SEAT picked up the mantle last year in the World Touring Car Championship with the Leon TDI.

As it turns out, running on diesel came to be a liability for SEAT as the WTCC reformatted the rules to reduce diesel's advantage. But the Sociedad Española de Automóviles de Turismo (Spanish Touring Car Company) pulled together, rallied its team and went on to dominate the World Touring Car Championship for the second year in the row, clinching all three of the series titles this past weekend in Macau - China's closest approximation of Monaco and the final round in the championship.

SEAT won the manufacturers' title, outpacing rivals BMW by three small points and outshining Chevrolet (with their new Cruze-based touring car) and Lada. SEAT's main shoe, Gabriele Tarquini, clinched the drivers' title ahead of his teammate (and defending champion) Yvan Muller. As if that wasn't enough, privateer Tom Coronel drove his gasoline-powered Leon to secure the Independents Trophy as well, making it a resounding triple victory for SEAT and its WTCC crew. Details in the press release after the jump and photos in the high-res image gallery below.


Gallery: SEAT Leon TDI at WTCC Macau


[Source: SEAT]

Continue reading SEAT dominates with second consecutive World Touring Car Championship

SEAT dominates with second consecutive World Touring Car Championship originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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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]

Hot Oil: SEAT offers limited-edition Leon FR550 TDI originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 26 Mar 2008 16:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>seat leonseat leon btccseat leon frseat leon fr550seat leon fr550 tdiseat leon tdiseat leon wtccSeatLeonSeatLeonBtccSeatLeonFrSeatLeonFr550SeatLeonFr550TdiSeatLeonTdiSeatLeonWtccWed, 26 Mar 2008 16:41:00 EST<![CDATA[Diesel claims another category: BMW building a diesel engine for the WTCC]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/11/26/diesel-claims-another-category-bmw-building-a-diesel-engine-for/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/11/26/diesel-claims-another-category-bmw-building-a-diesel-engine-for/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/11/26/diesel-claims-another-category-bmw-building-a-diesel-engine-for/#commentsFiled under: ,



In only its second WTCC race, the diesel-engined Seat Leon TDI came in first -- in front of its gas-powered Leon sibling. The diesel car only entered the series in July, yet it won three races and the driver was in championship contention up until the final race. BMW didn't need any more impetus than that to start planning its own turbocharged diesel engine program for the race series.

Surprisingly, though, BMW's head of motorsport, Mario Thiessen, doesn't think diesel is the way to go, citing the time it takes to really develop an engine and sort it out. But what's really at issue for him is the lack of clear parity in the WTCC, with different chassis, engine sizes and outputs, and now, different fuel types. He would rather see a situation more like Formula 1, with regulations that mandate more equalization.

Nevertheless, BMW has a very highly regarded diesel engine to start with. And if the WTCC engineers have decided to work on a diesel engine in spite of the boss' hesitations, then they'll want to do a very good job of it. We've seen Le Mans conquered by oil burners -- is the WTCC next?

[Source: Auto Racing Daily]

Diesel claims another category: BMW building a diesel engine for the WTCC originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 26 Nov 2007 10:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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