By the time you’ll watch this video, it won’t exactly be ‘Throwback Thursday’ anymore, but still, Fifth Gear have pulled out an older film that pits two previous-gen hot hatches against each other.
We’re looking at the Volkswagen Golf R Mk6 and the previous Seat Leon Cupra R. Both of them have the same underpinnings and about the same output, but the German car has something that its Spanish cousin doesn’t: an all-wheel drive system.
You’ll find out soon enough whether this is enough to make it faster on the track in Tiff Needell’s hands, but before checking out the video, we will remind you that this version of the Golf has 266 horses and needs just 5.5 seconds from 0 to 60mph (96km/h). Back when it was new, it used to cost £31,000 ($40,850) in the United Kingdom.
The Seat Leon Cupra R, on the other hand, was £5,000 ($6,590) cheaper, has a nearly identical 2.0-liter engine, but it is only front-wheel drive. It has an advantage, however, as the potent Spanish machine is 70kg (154lbs) lighter than the Golf R, but is this enough to beat it?