From July 17th to 19th in the TCR Italy

• CUPRA completes construction of the first CUPRA Leon Competición units
• The new model makes its debut this coming weekend at the 2020 TCR Italy
• Defending champion Salvatore Tavano will be at the wheel of the CUPRA touring racecar

Martorell, 16-07-2020 – Following its presentation last February, the CUPRA Leon Competición is preparing to take to the track this weekend. CUPRA’s new touring racecar will be making its world debut at the 2020 TCR Italy Championship, which starts next 17 to 19 July at the Mugello circuit.

Modelled after the new CUPRA Leon, the first two units of the CUPRA Leon Competición left the CUPRA Racing Factory last week headed for Italy, where they will be making their debut with the winning team of the national touring car competition, the Scuderia del Girasole by CUPRA Racing and the two-time Italian champion Salvatore Tavano.

The racing debut of the CUPRA Leon Competición was postponed due to the cancellation of the TCR series last March as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The return of the competition will take place in extraordinary circumstances, as the first race of the 2020 TCR Italy will be held behind closed doors to comply with safety measures.

CUPRA Racing director Jaime Puig underscored that “we are very pleased to get back to the tracks and to do so with the debut of the CUPRA Leon Competición. We have the newest model on the grid, and I believe we’ve developed a car capable of repeating the victories of its predecessor. Now that the competition is back on, it’s time to support all our client teams through our engineers.”

CUPRA Leon Competición

Salvatore Tavano and Simone Pellegrinelli, the drivers of the Scuderia del Girasole by CUPRA Racing team, will be in charge of the CUPRA Leon Competición’s racing debut on the track. The Italian team will be looking to repeat last two seasons’ best driver and team title wins.

The new passenger racecar, engineered to compete in the TCR series and in endurance races around the world, is equipped with a 2.0 litre turbocharged engine that develops 340 HP at 6800 RPM and 410 Nm of torque mated to a six-speed sequential gearbox, giving CUPRA’s brand new competition model 0 to 100 km/h acceleration in 4.5 seconds and a top speed of 260 km/h. Compared to the previous generation CUPRA TCR, the CUPRA Leon Competición combines the brand’s new bodywork and a chassis geometry designed specifically for the model, which reduces weight, provides rigidity and allows greater customisation options for each team and driver.

An innovative model

To achieve enhanced aerodynamic efficiency, CUPRA turned to HP’s Multi Jet Fusion 3D printing technology to produce lighter components that improve weight distribution, such as the steering switches module, air intakes and cooling vents.

The CUPRA Leon Competición perfectly reflects the contemporary character of the CUPRA brand and its racing DNA. Even before its competition debut, the CUPRA Leon Competición already set new standards in the world of motorsport, as at the end of 2019 it became the first touring racecar available for pre-reservation via an online platform. Moreover, the brand new model made its first virtual appearance at the CUPRA Simracing series last May with CUPRA ambassadors Marc ter Stegen, Mattias Ekström and Jordi Gené.