Cupra Leon Competicion made its racing debut

 

 

 

Following its presentation last February, the Cupra Leon Competicion landed on the track las weekend. CUPRA’s new touring racecar made its world debut at the 2020 TCR Italy Championship at the Mugello circuit.

Modeled after the new Cupra Leon, the first two units of the Cupra Leon Competicion made their debut with the winning team of the national touring car competition, the Scuderia del Girasole by Cupra Racing and the two-time Italian champion Salvatore Tavano.

The racing debut of the Cupra Leon Competicion was postponed due to the cancellation of the TCR series last March as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The return of the competition took place in extraordinary circumstances, as the first race of the 2020 TCR Italy was held behind closed doors to comply with safety measures.

CUPRA Racing director Jaime Puig underscored that “we are very pleased to get back to the tracks and to do so with the debut of the Cupra Leon Competicion. We have the newest model on the grid, and I believe we’ve developed a car capable of repeating the victories of its predecessor. Now that the competition is back on, it’s time to support all our client teams through our engineers.”

The new passenger racecar, engineered to compete in the TCR series and in endurance races around the world, is equipped with a 2.0 litre turbocharged engine that develops 340 HP at 6800 RPM and 410 Nm of torque mated to a six-speed sequential gearbox, giving CUPRA’s brand new competition model 0 to 100 km/h acceleration in 4.5 seconds and  a top speed of 260 km/h. Compared to the previous generation Cupra TCR, the Cupra Leon Competicion combines the brand’s new bodywork and a chassis geometry designed specifically for the model, which reduces weight, provides rigidity and allows greater customisation options for each team and driver.

To achieve enhanced aerodynamic efficiency, Cupra turned to HP’s Multi Jet Fusion 3D printing technology to produce lighter components that improve weight distribution, such as the steering switches module, air intakes and cooling vents.

Even before its competition debut, the Cupra Leon Competicion already set new standards in the world of motorsport, as at the end of 2019 it became the first touring racecar available for pre-reservation via an online platform. Moreover, the brand new model made its first virtual appearance at the Cupra Simracing series last May with Cupra ambassadors Marc ter Stegen, Mattias Ekström and Jordi Gené.