Miguel Sánchez
There is currently a lot of talk about the future of SEAT. A future that is not only affected by its position within the Volkswagen Group, but also by the growing commercial projection of the CUPRA reference. A name that, although it was born together with the more sporty versions of SEAT passenger cars, is currently acquiring its own identity in order to become an independent brand with sportiness as its flag.
Without a doubt a very interesting debate and in which, as already happened in relation to Lancia or Alfa Romeo within the Stellantis Group, any movement or innuendo raises heated debates about what will happen to the historic Spanish house.
Thus, from this side of the keyboard we not only prefer to be patient but even optimistic because, as declared followers of Lancia, we have already seen other cases in which the “imminent closure” has not been more than a barren prophecy before the definitive, fair and striking rebirth of the brand took place.
Anyway, in all this there is something really interesting: the origin of the term CUPRA itself. An acronym for Cup Racing, this comes from the time in which SEAT set out to conquer the FIA 2 Liter World Championship thanks to its sensational Racing Kit. A sporting operation ended with its rapid consequences in the dealerships when, in October 1996, the first production model with the CUPRA name was presented.
WHEN THE RACES COME A LONG
Despite having obvious budgetary limitations, competition was a constant for SEAT since the official SEAT Competition team was established in 1971. Preceded by the Special Car Department Directed in Barcelona by the engineer Francisco Coll, this had its premiere in May of the following year with units that, although very similar to the strict series ones, already reach 140 HP.
From here on, the trajectory of the official squad was truly sensational, surpassing the once dominant private Porsches in the Spanish rallies and even the FASA team with its radiant A110s. Furthermore, although The life of SEAT Competition ended in 1979 -having won up to seven Spanish Rally Championships- in 1985 the brand returned to the path of time trial by founding SEAT Sport.
A new competition department, more professional and with more resources, capable of promoting the brand already under the control of Volkswagen thanks to the checkered flag. At this point, from the Ibiza Bimotor to the Toledo Marathon, the technicians were able to get adequate training not only in the preparation of series units, but in the specific design of models born by and for competitions on land.
At this point, the debut of Formula 2 by the FIA - focused on manufacturers with two-wheel drive vehicles and two-liter naturally aspirated engines - put SEAT on the path back to a world event. Because of that, heading into the 1996 season The Ibiza Kit Car arrived with a power of up to 255 HP, widened wheel arches and all kinds of aerodynamic applications.
In short, a radical bet capable of approaching - at least on paper - the performance exhibited by its older WRC brothers with all-wheel drive and turbocharged engines. Likewise, although the SEAT was not brilliant in any aspect - in addition the team had fewer resources than those presented by the big rival brands - it did have good reliability at the same time that it was effective in the sections with the worst surface.
That said, the Cartesian regularity of its mechanics, technicians and drivers led the Ibiza Kit Car to victory during that debut season; all an achievement revalidated the following year. This time with a solid performance through which he succeeded in taking first place in up to eight consecutive events.
SEAT IBIZA CUPRA, THE LAUNCH ON THE STREETS
Taking off at a gallop on the FIA F2 tracks, SEAT saw the possibility of improving its brand image on the streets by presenting a particularly performance version of the Ibiza II with a tribute to the Kit Car. And that is how we should see this variant because, far from be a simple special edition with more appearance than substance, the 1996 Ibiza CUPRA was a real sports car designed only for the most restless drivers.
Dominated by its two-liter engine, double overhead camshaft and 16 valves of Volkswagen origin, it delivered 150 HP at 6.000 rpm to propel its around 1.040 kilos. In addition, its gearbox adjusted with very closed relationships "racing” thanks to excellent cornering, special 16-inch wheels or bucket seats without concessions to daily use.
All this, by the way, dry braking through more than generous 28-centimeter ventilated front discs and EDS electronic self-locking. Anyway, an excellent start for the CUPRA reference since, in the end, it perfectly marked the sporty and performance character that its models want to present from the base of compact models with mass production.
Images: SEAT on the road
PD As it could not be otherwise, the excellent SEAT en Rodaje collection has a unit of the Ibiza CUPRA in perfect condition. Manufactured in 1997, it is finished in a striking green color on which the lateral writing. The hallmark for this reference model in the most recent history of the brand.
Once again, we thank the magnificent collaboration of those responsible for SEAT in Filming, always ready to do whatever is necessary for the writing of these articles.
