-Among the Volkswagen Group’s fringe brands, at least to us Americans, sit the charming Czech Skoda and the caliente Spanish Seat outfits. Maybe it’s the desire to taste forbidden fruit—Skodas and Seats are off-limits in the U.S.—but we always get a kick out of the sportier or weirder offerings from the not-VW Volkswagen brands. And so it goes with the Seat Leon Cupra 290 debuting at the 2015 Frankfurt auto show. It’s a Leon Cupra (the sporty Leon based on the latest VW Golf), only with 290 PS, or, translated to ‘Merican, 286 horsepower! As Seat’s press release accurately states, in all capital letters: “Seat Leon Cupra 290: NOW WITH EVEN MORE POWER.”
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Utilizing more or less the same turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder found under the VW Golf R’s hood, the Cupra 290 does without the R’s all-wheel drive. That leaves a lot of power being routed through the Seat’s front axle, and luckily the sporty compact comes standard with a front differential lock. European buyers can choose between six-speed manual and dual-clutch automatic transmissions, and an available performance package adds Brembo brake calipers and special wheels and tires. To show everyone else how much power the Seat is making, “Cupra 290” lettering adorns the Leon’s tail.
-Although meaningless for our market, the Cupra 290 nonetheless pegs our weirdo-VW meter. And who knows? Volkswagen cobbled together a 261-hp front-drive GTI for global markets—maybe it’ll finally get around to giving the U.S.-spec model a high-po sibling with this Seat’s engine tune?
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