SEAT bosses are assessing the feasibility of a Cupra version of the new Ateca SUV , Auto Express has learned.
A high performance iteration of the brand’s new crossover could be on the cards if SEATpresident Luca de Meo can make the business case stack up.
Speaking from the launch of the new Ateca, de Meo told us: “We are having the discussion right now.
“We are very creative,” he said. “We can do a lot of things. But we have to make one solid step after the other.”
The most powerful Ateca available from launch will be a 2.0-litre diesel with 187bhp. While that is expected to pack quite a punch, it’s some way off the current Leon Cupra, which boasts a range of turbocharged petrol engines with up to 287bhp.
De Meo admitted there was room for more eco-friendly powertrains in the Ateca, but insisted there were no plans to scale back the introduction of new Cupra models. “FR and Cupra will continue,” he said. “I will help the team nurture this”.
Last year, we reported the news that a series of hot diesel engines from elsewhere in the VW Group stable were scheduled for SEAT’s high performance cars. The new Volkswagen Tiguan – with which the Ateca shares its wheelbase – will be made available with the 237bhp bi-turbo diesel from the Passat. This makes the installation of an identical powerplant in the SEAT SUV little more than a formality.
A hot SEAT Ateca with this powerful 2.0-litre BiTDI would be capable of 0-62mph in less than seven seconds and a top speed of more than 140mph. All this makes it more than worthy of the exclusive Cupra badge, while the flexible MQB platform could also see the invent of SEAT’s first all-wheel drive Cupra.
It’s not only de Meo excited by the prospect of a racy SUV, though. Design chief Alejandro Mesonero told us: “We’re fighting to stretch the line.”
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