Meet The Fully Electric, 670hp Cupra E-Racer
Creating an angry-looking 670hp touring car is bound to grab attention, especially as this one is completely electric. You won’t find a combustion engine in this Cupra E-Racer – nor will you find any SEAT badging. SEAT has pushed its Cupra performance arm out to fend for itself and, by the looks of it, it seems to be doing just fine!
The car has just completed its first dynamic driving test at the Castellolí circuit in Spain. It has the performance and excitement to match the headline figure, and Cupra has called the testing successful. There's also a new special-edition Leon Cupra ST - read on for all the details.
This wasn’t just a test of how fast it can lap the circuit, as it featured a much more extensive examination of all the different components. Electric racing cars are still quite new – the first Formula E race was only in 2014 – and the technology is nowhere near as mainstream as petrol or diesel engines.
Engineers have used this week to make sure the motors and batteries can consistently withstand the power, how the power can be managed to increase range or speed, and the working temperature of each element. They also tested the car’s driving characteristics, such as accelerator response, braking and energy recovery. Next time, in September, the team will focus on trimming lap times.
Ex-WTCC and F1 test driver Jordi Gené was the lucky man in the hot seat, and he called the E-Racer “a string of pleasant surprises.”
“It delivers impressive acceleration, and the excellent distribution of its batteries gives it a low centre of gravity with a much better than expected driving feel. The only scope for improvement we see is with the braking, as it is obviously a heavier car and more difficult to stop with precision.”
If you’ve read our previous blogs, you might remember Jordi Gené piloting a SEAT Leon Cupra ST against a slightly less powerful equine opponent. The Cupra E-Racer is set to compete in the popular TCR championship, but offers almost double the power of Cupra’s 350hp petrol Leon TCR – due to the extra weight of the batteries.
Don’t fancy an E-Racer? SEAT has also announced that you can now buy a very exclusive Leon Cupra ST with additional raciness. Fewer than 50 Carbon Edition cars are coming to the UK, so you’d better be pretty quick if you’d like the carbon fibre side blades and diffusers. Only available in Monsoon Grey, it features high-performance Brembo brakes, new alloy wheels and Cupra-branded quad exhaust pipes. It follows the success of the Leon Cupra R (which sold out almost immediately) and will be priced at £35,575. Where do we sign?
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