The Cupra Formentor VZ5 is a 390hp limited-run range-topper that uses Audi’s award-winning 2.5-litre five-cylinder turbo engine to set a new performance benchmark for the three-year-old brand.
It also marks the end of the firm’s petrol performance car era as every Cupra halo car after this will be electrified.
By 2030, the majority of the Cupra model range will be pure EVs.
Capable of 0-62mph in 4.2 seconds, the five-cylinder Formentor is the “maximum expression of combustion performance for car enthusiasts,” said Cupra president Wayne Griffiths.
Although the Formentor VZ5 will only be offered in left-hand drive, bosses have confirmed the model will be coming to the UK. It is expected to arrive before the end of the year.
Production will be strictly limited to 7,000 cars.
Five-cylinder Formentor
The performance division of Seat, Cupra is using the Audi five-cylinder engine to demonstrate how it plans to create distinctive halo cars in the future.
It is “a genuine one-off” said the firm’s president of engineering Dr Werner Tietz.
“The VZ5 is the most powerful and sophisticated variant ever created to date and I am confident that with its exclusive performance elements, it will become a dream for car enthusiasts.”
It’s paired as standard with a seven-speed DSG gearbox and Cupra says the unique noise from the quad copper exhaust pipes has not needed any artificial enhancement.
All-wheel drive, 20-inch wheels and adaptive suspension are standard, and the Formentor VZ5 sits 10mm lower than the existing 310hp model that so impressed Motoring Research recently.
Cupra also fits unique 18-inch six-piston Akebono brakes.
Other visual cues include a unique bonnet with flared lines, meatier wheelarches to house the 20-inch wheels, and (real) carbon fibre front splitter and rear diffuser.
Inside, unique ‘CUPBucket’ seats are more hip-hugging than the regular chairs and are mounted lower for a sportier driving position.
Cupra bosses say the Formentor is “the perfect vehicle to celebrate Cupra’s third anniversary as a standalone brand and continues the work and dedication to create vehicles that personify the Cupra DNA.”
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