Updated Seat Leon Cupra Has 300 PS, ST Estate Adds AWD

Seat’s foray into the compact hot hatch segment continues with the development of the facelifted Leon Cupra, which has just become the most powerful production Seat ever.

Coming hot on the heels of the regular versions unveiled two months ago, the 2017 Leon Cupra benefits from the same 2.0-liter TSI engine as the Cupra 290, which has been revised to lay down 300 PS (296 HP) and 380 Nm (280 lb-ft) of torque.

This means that it’s 10 PS (10 HP) and 30 Nm (22 lb-ft) more powerful than the latter and its extra muscle should slash something out of the previous range-topper’s 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) sprint of 5.7 sec with the DSG and 5.8 sec with the manual gearbox, though Seat hasn’t released any official performance figures yet.

Besides being more powerful, the tweaked hot hatch also comes with Adaptive Chassis Control (DCC), an electronic self-locking differential and progressive steering. Additionally, drivers can select between the Comfort, Sport, Eco, Individual and Cupra modes, and the car is also equipped with the latest driver assist technologies as well, like Traffic Jam Assist and Pedestrian Protection.

Seat has also revised the Cupra ST estate, which has received a double-clutch automatic transmission and four-wheel drive.