Cupra, the sporty offshoot of Seat, has developed splendidly since it was founded as a separate brand four years ago. The Spanish sub-brand now sells more cars in Germany than Seat. The most successful model is the racy SUV coupé Formentor, which is the first real Cupra not to be based on a Seat. Four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines with outputs from 150 to 310 hp and two 204 and 245 hp plug-in hybrids are on offer. The sporty spearhead of the 4.47 meter long crossover, which is relatively flat at 1.51 meters, is the 390 hp, all-wheel drive Formentor VZ5, which the editors spent two weeks exploring. And is thus in somewhat exclusive company, because the top version of the Mediterranean athlete, which costs at least 65,200 euros, is limited to 7,000 copies worldwide. If you want to get hold of one, you shouldn’t hesitate too long.
VZ stands for the Spanish “veloz”, which means “fast” in German, the number “5” indicates how many cylinders are working under the hood of the strong Spaniard. Its heart is namely Audi’s rather legendary 2.5-liter five-cylinder turbo petrol engine. The Ingolstadt-based company uses it in the RS3 and Q3RS models as well as in the TTRS and is now giving it away for the first time.