As Luca De Meo, Chairman of Seat, recounts the beginnings of the adventure that is starting to fire up the engines within the Volkswagen group, the smell of asphalt and burnt rubber seems to permeate the air. Perhaps in the same mix that lit up the senses of those who, in distant times, attended the old circuit of Sitgez-Terramar where the press conference is being held, inside a structure set like a gem between the two parabolic curves of 1923.
Here someone is hunting for authenticity, or at least that is the intention. Love of driving and of the road. Dynamic satisfaction at a time when so much (too much?) is being written about the wonders of autonomous drive. Here the discussion regards the content of a successful promise, a proposal that smells of true passion: in the wake of Seat’s growth, a separate brand with a resolute nature is born, which steals the name from the previous sportier versions of the range.
For the moment, the operation is fluctuating around existing cars: starting from the Ateca, on sale at the end of 2018, decorated with new aggressive bumpers and above all the new logo with its almost tribal features, yet at the same time as precise as a piece of German engineering. However, the future is expected to be much more interesting: “We are developing our own line of specific products and big surprises are in the pipeline,” Alejandro Mesoñero, head of Seat design, let slip.
In the meantime, the game is skilfully played out with materials and image research: copper and octanium become the flagship colours of the new brand, skilfully mixing meanness and elegance.
On the Cupra Ibiza concept, then, spoilers and appendices in authentic carbon fibre are used alongside Graphite Grey paint that evokes the pastel grey of Sixties’ racing cars: additional components that are produced in small series by minor Spanish companies, with the aim of enhancing specificity and skills. Constructional sincerity and passionate craftsmanship seem not to be lacking: only the market’s response remains to be tested.
