Cupra Formentor Abt

It's farewell to the original Cupra Formentor with an Abt-tuned run-out package. It's a quietly excellent car; just a shame about the price...

- JAMES TAYLOR

THIS IS NOT THE NEW FACELIFTED Cupra Formentor, which lands in the UK around the same time as this issue of evo. Rather, it's the last of the old Formentors, a run-out model limited to 160 cars in the UK.

As the Abt badging inside and out suggests, its upgrades have been selected and tested by Abt Sportsline, the German motorsport and tuning specialist that has partnered with SEAT and Cupra on various projects over the years, including the current Cupra Formula E team.

A run-out model can be a very good thing indeed, and we rather liked the last Abt-badged Cupra, the all-wheel-drive, estate-bodied SEAT Leon Cupra R ST Abt of 2020 (see evo 271). While this Abt Formentor is a limited-run offering, there are still a handful of slots available to purchase one through UK dealers.

Technically, this car's specification is an aftermarket option: the Abt pack is supplied and fitted to VZ3-spec Formentors at dealers post-registration. Said pack includes lowered suspension, a 59bhp power bump and different wheels among other Abt-fettled upgrades, plus a number of cherry-picked Cupra options. Hence all 160 UK cars allocated to be fitted with an Abt pack also have an Akrapovič exhaust system, carbon-backed Sabelt bucket seats and uprated Brembo brakes.

Open the bonnet and you can see a second, Abt-labelled ECU sitting on top of the battery.

Together with the freer-flowing exhaust, it takes power from the VW Group's long-lived four cylinder turbo EA888 engine to 365bhp, which is a lot from 2 litres. Since it's a manufacturer-approved upgrade package, it's covered by a five-year warranty.