SEAT is reportedly going to follow in the footsteps of its parent company, Volkswagen, as it’s been reported that it’s swapping out the current Ibiza Cupra’s 1.4-liter engine for a larger 1.8-liter.
VW did the same with the Polo GTI and it also gave it a manual gearbox for the first time – SEAT will do the same.
Autocar says the facelifted Ibiza should debut by the end of 2015, and really mirror the Polo GTI in its specifications. The engine will probably have the same 189 hp output, 12 hp up from the outgoing 1.4-liter, and performance will obviously be very similar.
The source quotes Sven Schawe, SEAT director of engineering and chassis development, who reportedly said the Spanish automaker is in talks with VW to see if they can make it more powerful than the Polo; the Renault Clio RS 220 might get another proper rival aside from the Ford Fiesta ST.
Note: Current SEAT Ibiza Cupra pictured
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