'ring lap times
matter? It's a debate we've had, and probably will have again, often here on PH but if you ask SEAT they do. Ask Renault and you'd get a 'oui'. Ask Honda and you'd get a 'oh ... damn' as the bright spark who decided publicly declaring a record FWD 'ring lap as a development goal for
the Civic Type R
was a good idea looks at his feet.
That's a 'production spec' disguise presumably
Slightly improbably following on from the lead of the Porsche 918 Spyder at the Frankfurt show last year SEAT chose to unveil the
new Leon Cupra 280
formally to the world off the back of confirming a new record lap time. 7min 58.4sec cracks the eight-minute barrier for the first time for a car driving from the front axle, beating the the Renaultsport Megane 265 Trophy's
8min 8sec record
by nearly 10 seconds. Bear in mind
when we spoke with him
Walter Rohrl credited his first sub-eight minute lap in a 911 - a 996 GT3 - as a noteworthy achievement and you begin to understand the rate of progress hot hatches have made in the 15 years since.
SEAT says the car that achieved the time, driven by SEAT ETCC and WTCC driver Jordi Gene, was a standard production specification Cupra 280 DSG with the optional performance pack that adds Brembo brakes, 19-inch wheels and Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres.
Leon Cup Racer looks like a right giggle - want!
Given that our overall verdict on the Cupra when we drove it was 'nice, possibly a bit sensible' the 'ring lap does inject a bit of spice into the car and whatever the relevance of that time it reasserts SEAT as the performance brand within the VW stable. A point underlined by the tasty looking Leon Cup Racer touring car which takes to the tracks in May as part of the SEAT Leon Eurocup.
Can of worms now levered open how long before Vauxhall/Opel decides to initiate a production run of Astra Extremes and head off to the Eifel. And will Renaultsport take this lying down?