A more potent version of the Seat Ibiza Cupra will be on sale by the end of the year.
The facelifted model is set to mark a significant shift from the current car by getting a larger, more powerful engine along with a six-speed manual gearbox instead of the automatic-only existing model.
The revised Ibiza Cupra is set to adopt the same 1.8 TSI engine as its Volkswagen Polo GTI sister car, which has also been recently revised. That car ditched its 177bhp 1.4 TSI and automatic gearbox in favour of the new 1.8 TSI and manual gearbox for its facelift, something that will be repeated on the Ibiza Cupra.
The Polo GTI’s 1.8 TSI produces 189bhp, but the power output of the Ibiza Cupra could eclipse that. Sven Schawe, Seat’s director of whole vehicle engineering and chassis development, told Autocar that negotiations with parent firm VW were ongoing about just how powerful they could make the new Ibiza Cupra.
The facelift to the Ibiza Cupra will also bring with it the changes and improvements seen on the rest of the range, including subtle styling tweaks, minor updates to the suspension and an interior that comes with a new infotainment system and materials with a higher perceived quality.
There is no word on any dynamic changes to the Ibiza Cupra, however, although the standard range has had its spring and damper rates revised.
The facelifted Ibiza Cupra will mark a swansong for the current generation of the Spanish supermini, with an all-new model in development for a launch currently scheduled for 2017.
Read Autocar's review of the Seat Ibiza facelift
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Back to the future...
VW limitations
You have to wonder why the U
Is it that the market didn't like them after all and wouldn't be railroaded in to going down the semi auto route?
TegTypeR wrote: You have to
Similarly, I wonder how sales of the current RenaultSport Clio compare with the previous, manual model.
catnip wrote: TegTypeR wrote:
The new Clio RS is selling very poorly. Websites that track the number of registrations, such as HowManyLeft, show only 531 Clio 200s on our roads. 531 since 2013 is quite a disaster.
The Kia Cee'd GT and Pro_Cee'd GT have actually outsold it by nearly 200%.