Here’s A Mega-Rare SEAT Leon Cupra R For £15k Less Than A Born VZ

The hot hatch market is changing, and not particularly for the better. Take Cupra, the performance-badge-turned-separate-sub-brand-turned-possible-replacement for SEAT. For years, the name appeared on hot versions of the SEAT Leon, and that still rings true, with the Cupra Leon recently getting a facelift.

It’ll be available with a 328bhp, four-wheel drive setup pinched from the new VW Golf R, too, but in the UK, that powertrain’s only been confirmed for the Sportstourer estate. The most powerful hatch confirmed for us is a 268bhp plug-in hybrid. That means if you want the most powerful new hot hatch Cupra can offer, you have to look to the new 322bhp Born VZ.

While its rear-drive layout promises some lairy entertainment, there’s one big catch that’ll lead many to write it off without a second glance: it’s electric. It also starts at a fairly painful £44,625.

With the future of the petrol-powered Catalan hot hatch very much in doubt, then, we’ve once again looked to the classifieds to see what gems are lurking, and as always, they’ve delivered.

Back in 2018, just before Cupra was fully spun off into a standalone brand, SEAT waved it off by giving us this: the Leon Cupra R. Power from its 2.0-litre turbocharged four-pot was taken up to 306bhp, all of which was sent through the front wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox.

The front end was tweaked to cope with this extra punch, with a slightly wider track, a mite more negative camber dialled in, and sharpened steering. The adaptive dampers were reworked too.

When it came out, it cost a smidge under £35k – a lot, even before new car prices began their utterly bonkers ascent. Not that this mattered – of the 799 built, just 24 Cupra Rs were brought to the UK, all of which were rapidly snapped up.

That makes finding a used one a rarity. That’s just what we have here, though, an example that’s covered just 13,900 miles in five years. Despite its rarity and low mileage, though, it’s listed at £29,950 – nearly £15k less than Cupra’s flagship EV hatch.

The grey-’n’-copper colour scheme won’t necessarily appeal to fans of subtlety, nor will the Akrapovič exhaust this one’s been treated to. No visible plate in the ad also means no way of checking MOT history, but it looks well cared for and it’s all VW bits, so reliability shouldn’t really be a concern.

It’s something we say about plenty of companies these days, but we likely won’t see another car like this from Cupra again. All the more reason to enjoy one its greatest hits of recent years, then.