Seat made headlines last year when it clocked the first sub-eight-minute lap of the Nürburgring for a front-drive car with the Leon Cupra. Surely the heavier wagon version would be slower, right?
So you might assume, but in as apt a demonstration of the relativity of these laps times as we've ever seen, the Spanish automaker has actually managed to trounce its own record in the Leon ST Cupra despite the extra hundred pounds of weight it carries.
According to Top Gear, which was on hand to witness the record, the Seat Leon ST Cupra clocked a lap time of 7:58:00, which is not only nearly half a second quicker than the three-door version that previously claimed the front-drive record, but also a good 11 seconds faster than the Audi RS4 Avant that has held the lap record for wagons since 2006. And the RS4 had a V8 and all-wheel drive, compared to the Seat's turbo-four driving the front wheels.
Those keeping track will note that the Renaultsport Mégane 275 Trophy-R was still quicker at 7:54.36, but that limited-run hot hatch is a three-door model, leaving the Leon as not only the fastest wagon, but the fastest five-door of any shape or size ever to lap the Green Hell. That is, for now, anyway.
So you might assume, but in as apt a demonstration of the relativity of these laps times as we've ever seen, the Spanish automaker has actually managed to trounce its own record in the Leon ST Cupra despite the extra hundred pounds of weight it carries.
According to Top Gear, which was on hand to witness the record, the Seat Leon ST Cupra clocked a lap time of 7:58:00, which is not only nearly half a second quicker than the three-door version that previously claimed the front-drive record, but also a good 11 seconds faster than the Audi RS4 Avant that has held the lap record for wagons since 2006. And the RS4 had a V8 and all-wheel drive, compared to the Seat's turbo-four driving the front wheels.
Those keeping track will note that the Renaultsport Mégane 275 Trophy-R was still quicker at 7:54.36, but that limited-run hot hatch is a three-door model, leaving the Leon as not only the fastest wagon, but the fastest five-door of any shape or size ever to lap the Green Hell. That is, for now, anyway.
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