March 6, 2015 – SEAT shocked the automotive world when it announced that its new Leon Cupra 280 managed to set a sub-7 minute laptime around the Nürburgring Nordschleife, making it faster than much more expensive machinery like the Dodge Viper SRT-10 and Mercedes-Benz CLK63 AMG Black Series and Aston Martin DBS.
Naturally, Auto Express decided to pit the SEAT against a theoretically faster car, the Volkswagen Golf R, which benefits from 30 extra horsepower (280 for the SEAT compared to 300 for the VW) and all-wheel drive traction. However, the SEAT’s lighter FWD configuration makes it more agile and overall, better to drive. This shows on the racetrack as the cheaper Leon Cupra 280 manages to clock a laptime almost a second faster than the Golf R.
Watch the interesting track battle in the video below.