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Cupra Formentor and Leon get the ABT high performance treatment

The German tuner is also planning to create a more aggressive Raval special edition

Cupra and ABT pair up for Formentor and Leon special editions - front view

Meet the new, extra sporty-looking special editions of the Cupra Formentor SUV and Leon hatchback created by renowned German tuner ABT, with the two companies confirming they’re expanding their long-standing collaboration. 

The already striking family cars have received several styling enhancements from ABT, including more aggressive front and rear splitters, bigger roof spoilers, extended side skirts, a new rear diffuser, aero fins on the rear bumper and special badging. Completing the look are 21-inch rims, with each car getting unique designs. 

The new ABT editions of the Formentor and Leon won’t be available until 2026, and hopefully before then it will be revealed what will power them. At this stage, we’d put our money on versions of the 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine used by the most potent models of both cars.

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In the regular Cupra Leon, this unit produces 296bhp, while the Leon Estate and Formentor feature a more powerful 328bhp version with all-wheel drive. ABT is already offering upgrades for this engine to pump up the output to 335bhp in the hatch, or 365bhp for the wagon and SUV, with tuned models delivering a hefty 450Nm of torque. 

ABT also plans to create a meaner-looking edition of the new Cupra Raval supermini, and we wouldn’t be surprised if similar versions of other models in the Spanish brand’s line-up follow, such as the recently launched Terramar mid-size SUV.

Cupra and ABT pair up for Formentor and Leon special editions - rear view

We’re also still holding out hope for an even hotter version of the Formentor, as the brand’s CEO Wayne Griffiths informed us last year he was running about in an uprated five-cylinder version of the popular SUV that had been tuned by ABT. 

However, there’s no word yet whether we could see such a model offered in the UK.

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Ellis Hyde, staff writer Auto Express
News reporter

As our news reporter, Ellis is responsible for covering everything new and exciting in the motoring world, from quirky quadricycles to luxury MPVs, hot hatches and supercars. He was previously the content editor for DrivingElectric and won the Newspress Automotive Journalist Rising Star award in 2022.

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