WTCC

SEAT Sport to launch first WTCC diesel car

WORLDWIDE TECHNOLOGICAL BREAKTHROUGH AT ANDERSTORP SEAT presents its first Diesel at a FIA World Touring Car Championship In Sweden, Jordi Gene and Yvan Muller will drive a Leon WTCC equipped with a 280 hp TDI engine, stemming from the 170 hp 2.0 ...

Published: Jul 19, 2007, 8:14 PM

Copy link

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

WORLDWIDE TECHNOLOGICAL BREAKTHROUGH AT ANDERSTORP
SEAT presents its first Diesel at a FIA World Touring Car Championship

In Sweden, Jordi Gene and Yvan Muller will drive a Leon WTCC equipped with a 280 hp TDI engine, stemming from the 170 hp 2.0 mounted in the Leon FR.

The next FIA World Touring Car Championship event will be a milestone for both SEAT and the FIA World Series. For the first time, a manufacturer's Diesel car will line up at a FIA-organised official World Championship race.

SEAT will be rolling two TDI cars onto the Scandinavian Raceway at Anderstorp on July 28/29, whose engine base derives from the 170 hp 2.0 TDI mounted in the Leon FR, as the culmination of a technological breakthrough that SEAT Sport engineers have been working on for the past few months. After a long stage of technical testing, the project will make its debut at the next WTCC meeting. The aim is to increase the team's competitiveness at the World Championship and pave the way to winning the Manufacturers' and Drivers' titles.

Jordi Gene and Yvan Muller will be responsible for piloting these first two units in what will be one of the greatest challenges recently faced by SEAT Sport, and all thanks to the option provided by the World Championship rule book.

Jaime Puig, Director of SEAT Sport: "The regulations allow us to register a car equipped with a Diesel engine, and we were happy to rise to the challenge. We are satisfied with the testing results and believe the Leon TDI WTCC can become a competitive car in the mid and long term. For the moment it will only be driven by Jordi Gene, who has been responsible for its development, and Yvan Muller. Gabriele Tarquini, Tiago Monteiro and Michel Jourdain will continue to drive the usual model."

Benoit Bagur, SEAT Sport Chief Engineer: "Since the FIA made it possible to enter a Diesel engine in the competition, we started looking into the viability of the project, and it took off a few months ago. The basis for the engine is the 170 hp 2.0 mounted on the Leon FR. We kept the engine block and the cylinder head of the production model, but changed the turbo compressor and gearbox. Furthermore, we had to alter the front part to house the intercooler and create new air intakes. The Diesel engine is 35 kilos heavier than the petrol engine, so we had to redistribute some weight. After satisfactory test results, we are eager to see its potential in actual racing conditions."

Jordi Gene: "We have been working on this project for several months, and appreciate its great potential. I am looking forward to it because one of the aspects I most like about my job is the possibility of working on new car development, and even more so when they feature new technologies. We are facing a double handicap with the Diesel car. The first is that according to regulations, a Diesel car has to weigh 30 kilos more than with a petrol engine. The second is that the intercooler and the turbo are situated in front of the front axel, which makes weight distribution detrimental compared to a petrol car. But, as the Leon has the best chassis in the Championship and our engine torque will be much higher, I think that, in the mid-term and on certain tracks, we can be competitive."

Yvan Muller: "I have done some testing with the Diesel engine, and the lap times are very similar to the petrol engine. It is a little slower in the corners because of the extra weight and there is more stress on the tyres, but it is a little bit quicker on the straights. The chassis of the SEAT Leon is one of the best, but the straight-line speed is too slow and now SEAT Sport has found a good solution to this problem. I raced a diesel-engined car at the Spa 24Hrs once, and I'm looking forward to racing the Leon for the first time in Sweden."

SEAT Leon TDI WTCC Technical Data

BASE CAR
SEAT León 2.0 TDI FR

ENGINE
Turbocharged; 4-cylinder in line, transversally installed; distribution: two overhead camshafts, 16 valves.
Displacement: 2000 cc.
Bore x stroke: 81x95,5 mm.
Maximum power: 280 bhp / 4000 rpm.
Maximum torque: 450 nm / 2500 rpm.
Lubrication: wet sump.
Particle filter: DOW

TRANSMISSION
Front-wheel drive; gearbox: Hewland 6-speed, sequential shift.
Clutch: twin-plate.
Differential: mechanical limited slip differential.

CHASSIS
Front suspension: McPherson strut, coil springs, gas-filled dampers, anti-roll bar.
Rear suspension: multi-link axel, coil springs, gas-filled dampers, anti-roll bar.
Steering: power assisted rack and pinion.

BRAKES
Not-assisted dual circuit system.
Front brakes: 4-piston calipers, 332 mm steel ventilated discs.
Rear brakes: 2-piston calipers, 280 mm steel discs.

DIMENSIONS
Length: 4330 mm.
Width: 1849 mm.
Wheelbase: 2600 mm.
Minimum weight: 1170kg (including driver).

-credit: seat

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

- The Motorsport.com Team

Read and post comments

Share Or Save This Story

Copy link

Share on Viber

Previous article Brands Hatch: "Frankie" Cheng Cong Fu race report

Next article Dave Heitzman St. Louis recap, Indy ORP preview

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

View More & Comment

Latest news

Timmy Hill secures full-time NASCAR Truck ride for 2027

NASCAR Truck

NSTR NASCAR Truck

Homestead

59 min

Timmy Hill secures full-time NASCAR Truck ride for 2027

Kimi Antonelli admits he questioned himself throughout his rookie campaign

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

Sao Paulo GP

1 h

Kimi Antonelli admits he questioned himself throughout his rookie campaign

F1 Brazil GP: Friday schedule, weather forecast and how to watch

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

Sao Paulo GP

1 h

F1 Brazil GP: Friday schedule, weather forecast and how to watch

Oscar Piastri accepts Arvid Lindblad clash penalty; guidelines 'tricky' to enforce at Mexico opening corners

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

Sao Paulo GP

1 h

Oscar Piastri accepts Arvid Lindblad clash penalty; guidelines 'tricky' to enforce at Mexico opening corners

Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.

From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.

You have 2 options:

Become a subscriber.
Disable your adblocker.

Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here

Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page

Manage Alerts