Hot Seat Bocanegra gets go-ahead

Production of the stunning Seat Bocanegra Concept is to go ahead after its amazing reception at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show

Production of the stunning Seat Bocanegra Concept is to go ahead after its amazing reception at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show.

A Seat insider told Auto Trader the man behind of the Seat Bocanegra Concept is very proud of the nose in particular and is pushing to see it and some of the Bocanegra’s other features adorn a range-topping Seat Ibiza 3-door.

View more pictures of the Seat Bocanegra Concept

The 2008 Seat Ibiza 3-door has a slightly different design to its 5-door relation, with Seat calling it a ‘sport coupe’ as opposed to a hatchback thanks to its sleeker shape.

We expect a sporty FR diesel and Cupra petrol version of the ‘sport coupe’ to closely resemble the Seat Bocanegra Concept seen in Geneva.

This means it will have a black nose (Bocanegra is Spanish for ‘black mouth’), aggressive bumpers, flared wheelarches, exotic headlights, a centrally mounted sports exhaust and large alloy wheels when it arrives in 2009.

Engines are expected to be small but powerful, making use of turbocharging and clever DSG semi-automatic gearboxes to achieve hot hatch levels of performance.

The concept’s designer, Luc Donckerwolke, is the man behind the Lamborghini Murcielago and Lamborghini Gallardo, which have led to a resurgence for the Audi-owned Italian supercar builder.

Donckerwolke also worked with designer Walter de’Silva to produce the Lamborghini Miura concept, a modern interpretation of the world’s first supercar, before being appointed Seat design director in 2005.

While Donckerwolke and Seat will look to steal sales from the Mini and soon-to-be-launched Ford Fiesta, it could also be a cheaper alternative to the Volkswagen Scirocco – the 200bhp sports hatch which goes on sale in September.

We’re at the European launch of the 2008 Seat Ibiza this week so don’t forget to come back for our verdict on the Spanish supermini on Friday.

View more pictures of the Seat Bocanegra Concept