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SEAT launches fastest-yet superhatch

  •   SEAT launches new performance pack
  •   Larger brakes and Michelin tyres and
 
•   Sub-eight sec lap of Nurburgring

LONDON, England - SEAT is all set to stir up the hot-hatch brigade once again with the launch of a new ‘Ultimate Sub8 Performance Pack’ based on the exact specification of its creation which became the first front-wheel drive production car to lap the Nürburgring Nordschleife in less than eight minutes.

The pack adds R73 724 to the price of the basic car.

The Seat Cupra sold, briefly, in South Africa from 2006 to 2008 under the VW flag. The brand's sudden disappearance caused much anger among buyers and Seat fans. - Editor


Be under no illusions. A Leon SC Cupra 280 fitted with the Ultimate Sub8 Performance Pack is no impractical track-day toy. It’s every inch a proper hot hatch, just with an even more focused nature than the multi-award-winning Leon on which it’s based.

It’s even got rear seats and a radio, DAB at that. Nevertheless, it’ll still make a simple trundle to the mall  an occasion, not a chore, and garner plenty of attention along the way. Plus, given the fact that each car will be built to order, its exclusivity is assured.

CLIMATE CONTROL

Specifying the Ultimate Sub8 Performance Pack on a Leon SC Cupra 280, costing the equivalent of R477 629 in manual guise, brings the price to R551 353.

A sizeable R88 118 less than its closest direct rival, the two-seater Mégane Renaultsport 275 Trophy-R at R640 ,109. Or, closer to R120 874 by the time the latter’s Performance Brake pack, power external mirrors and satnav are added.

Courtesy of some weight reduction trickery, SEAT says, the comprehensive pack swops climate control for a simpler heating system, while even four of the Cupra’s usual eight speakers have been ditched in the dieting process. The weight loss programme has also seen the Leon Cupra 280 slimmed down through the loss of the centre console armrest and rear air vents, while even the storage boxes under the front seat have been binned.

The rest of the pack is as per the standard Sub8 Performance Pack, which means lightweight multi-spoke 19-inch alloys in black or orange, 30mm larger brakes with Brembo callipers and body-coloured side skirts. Semi-slick Michelin Pilot Sport Cup2 tyres can be included too for R8 082.

'SUPREME EXPERIENCE'

Keeping it extremely simple for customers, there’s the usual choice of six-speed manual or slick-shifting DSG transmission, but, in keeping with its stripped back approach, no options.

As well as a supreme driving experience, SEAT says, it also retains another Cupra hallmark, its high-end equipment features. Among them are dynamic chassis control) and Cupra Drive Profile, providing the choice of Normal, Sport, Cupra and Individual settings, to adjust the suspension, throttle sensitivity, gearbox and engine note, according to the whim of the driver.

There’s also cruise control, rear parking sensors, touchscreen satellite navigation and tyre-pressure monitor.

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