The SEAT Leon Cupra is, for the lack of a better comparison, just like William Baldwin: it can do a pretty good job itself, but it has to live in the shadow of its more famous brother, the Volkswagen Golf R, also known as Alec Baldwin.
Just like the Baldwins, though, just because they're part of the same family doesn't mean they're equal. William doesn't have Alec's silky-smooth voice, just like the Cupra doesn't have the Golf R's power output. Granted, it's just 20 hp between the two, and besides, that's not the most relevant difference.
The one thing that matters the most, particularly when the track is as wet as it is on this day, is the lack of an all-wheel-drive. The Cupra can get one, together with a 10 hp boost that takes its output to 300 hp, but this is the basic version of the model with 290 hp and front-wheel-drive only. Well, at least it has VW's excellent DSG dual-clutch transmission, right? Nope, it's a six-speed manual.
You're probably wondering why someone would even consider drag racing a car like this since we all know how badly a slow shift can damage its time, and humans tend not to offer the needed consistency. Well, after countless videos with Hellcats and GT500s, maybe we've become a little spoiled.
Besides, what you're about to see is just a benchmark for the Cupra, so its owner - OG channel host Jamie - can have a reference to compare it to after he finishes his tuning project. He doesn't say what exactly he has planned for the SEAT, but whatever it is, it can only make it go faster.
However, since it's a front-wheel-drive car, adding too much power might not be the best way to go forward. You can tell the Cupra is already struggling to cope with everything the engine and transmission are throwing at those two front wheels. Extra power could cut the zero-to-sixty and quarter-mile times, but there won't be any significant change in the way the hot hatch goes through the first two gears when traction is also slow.
After completing the solo 0-60 and quarter-mile runs, Jamie pits the Cupra against a fellow stock Audi RS3 in a couple of rolling races. With AWD and automatic transmission, the Ingolstadt machine is the clear favorite even before we go into engine details, which can only enhance that status. Can the hot SEAT cause an upset? As the Magic 8-Ball used to say, don't count on it.
"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie) Full profile
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