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IF you want an example of how hard car makers have to work to please performance-car enthusiasts while still hitting ever-tightening targets on average CO2 emissions, turn to page eight. Here is the new car from Cupra – the supposed performance and premium division of SEAT – and while it’s on offer with up to 306bhp, it’s also available as a plug-in hybrid. History tells us that where one VW Group brand goes, the rest follow. And sure enough, we already know that Skoda is planning to expand the vRS line-up of its new Octavia to include a plug-in hybrid alongside the petrol and diesel editions. The new VW Golf GTI will still be a regular turbocharged petrol car when we see it next week – but in the medium…

Alex_Ingram@dennis.co.uk ● Cupra Leon range will include plug-in hybrid for first time ● Hatch offers up to 296bhp, with 306bhp and 4WD in estate SEAT’s performance arm, Cupra, has revealed its version of the latest Leon, and there’s a significant twist. It will be available in both hatchback and estate forms, and will produce as much as 306bhp, but the new hot hatch will also be offered with a plug-in hybrid powertrain. Designed, engineered and built at the new purpose-built Cupra facility in Martorell, near Barcelona, Spain, the Cupra Leon will face rivals like the Hyundai i30N and Ford Focus ST. It’ll also need to fend off other competition from within the Volkswagen Group; both the Skoda Octavia vRS and VW Golf GTI will make their debuts soon. From the…

Deputy News Editor, Auto Express THE new Leon marks not one, but two important milestones for Cupra. Look beyond the hybrid power headlines, and this newcomer means that the Cupra sub-brand has finally been totally unified, following a confusing period when the existence of the Cupra Ateca clashed with the previous Leon Cupra, which was sitting awkwardly in SEAT’s regular line-up. From this point, every hot SEAT will simply be a Cupra, with a Cupra badge and no branding whatsoever from its parent company. A loss for the mothership? Absolutely. But to judge from this new Leon, it means those responsible for Cupra cars can be more flamboyant and expressive. “From this point, every hot SEAT will just be a Cupra, with no SEAT branding”…

Alex_Ingram@dennis.co.uk ● Range expands to include sensible and extreme variants ● Tweaked styling and suspension, but engine is unchanged HONDA has bolstered the Civic Type R line-up for 2020, not just with a facelifted model, but with two brand-new variants. Earlier in the year, an updated version of the Type R GT was revealed with tweaked styling, a retrimmed interior, revised suspension and damping, plus a new laptime logging function. This car is now joined by a more subtle variant, plus a stripped-back, lightweight, limited-edition special. The yellow Civic above is the Type R Limited Edition. Only 100 are coming to Europe – 20 for the UK – and you can think of it as Honda’s answer to the Renault Mégane R.S. Trophy-R – the car that stole the Type…

John_McIlroy@dennis.co.uk ● Concept previews new EV ● Design and tech showcase “Precept is so named because it shows the styling direction that Polestar intends to take” THIS is the Polestar Precept, a new concept from the Swedish brand that is likely to preview a new production model that will arrive within the next four years. Described by Polestar as a “four-door grand tourer” – but featuring a shape that takes aim squarely at the Tesla Model 3 and Model S – the Precept is so named because it shows the styling direction that Polestar intends to take as it moves away from its initial models, the 1 and 2. Those cars are based on concepts from Polestar’s fellow Geely-owned brand Volvo. No technical information has been released apart from confirmation…

James_Brodie@dennis.co.uk ● Flagship model revealed ● Hybrid drive from launch THIS is the DS 9, a new range-topping saloon from PSA Group’s premium arm, designed to rival the likes of the Mercedes E-Class and Jaguar XF. It expands the DS line-up to three cars, sitting above the DS 3 and 7 Crossback SUVs, and is the company’s long-promised halo model. It’ll be heading to the Geneva Motor Show in March, and will go on sale here later in 2020. It sits on PSA’s EMP2 platform for larger vehicles, which is shared with the DS 7 Crossback and the Peugeot 508. However, the new DS 9 occupies a larger segment than its Peugeot relation. At 4,930mm long and 1,850mm wide, it slots into the full-size executive car market, and is the…