Have to say that I’m quite liking it…more after the jump.
This is the roadcar, too – not a ‘nearly-but-no-but’ car. Plenty of detail for the exterior and it contains the lovely 1.4-litre TSi VW units in either 140 or 180bhp flavours. A bit of flair? We think so. And that’s a good thing.
The official release went like this:
Boasting several unique, and dramatic, black styling elements at its nose – hence the Bocanegra name which translates as ‘black mouth’ in Spanish – the new iteration of today’s Ibiza is set to become one of the hottest superminis around.
Unveiled on the SEAT stand at today’s first Press day the Ibiza Bocanegra’s styling is also a tribute to the Spaniards’ original Bocanegra, the 1200 Sport, which debuted in its home country back in 1975.
The ’70s car, a milestone in the Brand’s history as the first model to be wholly developed at the SEAT Technical Centre in Martorell, quickly went on to become a firm favourite in its home market and notched up sales of more than 11,000 in just three years.
Scroll forward to today, and design features unique to the 2009 car include completely black double headlights, a central grille with honeycomb mesh and black surround including innovative air vents at the base.
The bumper combines black with the body colour, while a broad grille beneath that takes care of cooling the engine. The fog lights are built into the bumper, which is bigger at the bottom and over the wheel arches, and its distinctly muscular volume contributes toward the car’s unmistakably sporty appearance.
Other elements that further add to the Ibiza Bocanegra’s image are black door mirror housings, a dark tinted sunroof and attractive 17-inch ‘Sira’ alloys.
At the back, the Bocanegra features honeycomb mesh on the side grids, an impressive spoiler, chunky wheel arches and a tinted rear window. And if anyone were in any doubt that this really is a special SEAT, there’s a prominent “Bocanegra” badge centred on the rear hatch of this most exclusive Ibiza.
Inside, the design delights continue with a bespoke interior that underlines the car’s sporting style.
The sports seats are upholstered with special fabric made up of rhomboids stitched together in red, while the upper part of the seats sport the logo that identifies this version – a capital ‘B’ also stitched in red.
Other eye-catching features inside include the three-spoke steering wheel, flattened at its base, which displays a capital ‘B’ in aluminium in the middle of the vertical spoke.
Gloss black trim, aluminium-clad pedals and, of course, the Bocanegra logo on the instrument panel distinguish this car from the forthcoming FR and Cupra versions, too.
In its home market the new Bocanegra will be equipped with the twin charged 1.4 TSI engine, either in 150 PS or 180 PS guise. This new generation engine guarantees both brilliant performance and exceptional economy.
Meanwhile, XDS electronic limited slip differential and a state-of-the-art seven-speed DSG gearbox with steering wheel-mounted paddle shifts underline the Bocanegra’s hi-tech appeal.
Welcoming the car’s dramatic show debut today Head of SEAT UK, Peter Wyhinny, said: ‘The surprise unveiling of Luc Donckerwolke’s brilliant design concept at Geneva last year caused a real buzz around the show, and I’m sure the appearance of this remarkable production version will do the same in Barcelona.
‘I’m very much looking forward to seeing right-hand drive versions of the Ibiza Bocanegra turning heads on UK roads later this year.’
My Granny has a Seat Ibiza……..and I mean that in the good way….
That looks very nice indeed. It’ll be interesting to see how it drives.
The thing a hot hatch MUST have is unique looks. You have to be able to know it’s a hot hatch, luckily Seat have succeded. The front end looks butch and very muscular, the rear looks like it came off of a GT1 racer, and the interior looks sporty with all the red stitching and racing seats.
The engine sounds good too. It’s only a 1.4 but that’s a good thing. That’ll mean it’s light at the front, reducing understeer which is the killer of fun. 7-speed flappy-paddle gearbox in a hot hatch on a race track will be incredible, but on the road it probably won’t be as easy. The amount of power seams right up my street; Just enough to rip your face off but not enough to torque-steer you into a lamp post.
Does anyone know of any 0-60mph times, the type of rubber this thing runs on or the weight of the car? I’d love to know that to get a better idea of how fast this car could be. Considering the power of the engine, it’ll probably be astonishingly fast.
No wonder they called it the ‘BlackMouth’ – that front end is er, striking. That’s about the most polite way I can put it…
As for the car itself: Hot hatch? 180bhp? I’ll have the Scirocco GT thanks. Quicker than a Mk5 Golf GTi (the definitive hot hatch) and pretty sexy bodywork. Plus it annoys the GTi enthusiasts, which is always a plus.
I’d rather have a Scirocco Gt too.
Nope…does nothing for me. Ibiza’s an awkward looking car in the first place – giving it a big black snout is a tad peculiar. No doubt it’ll be hoot to drive…
it looks absolutly good…
well after all the lambo designer luc doncker something did it..
so it`s like a little lambo right
Great car! Those seats…got me excited! 1.4l 180hp sounds great, but what would the service intervals be, like 3000 miles?
I really like seat’s just the word makes me want to,.. well….sit. The Leon Fr was a good sporty hatch but this new ibiza just looks the business.
those seats look very comfy… i wanna get in there!!
that looks fabulous
sorta looks like the subaru impreza
Funny looking car… still, looks like it would drive well, like the Ibiza! Definitely worth a spin in at some point.
I’ll admit those seats do look good (which is ironic, given the manufacturer seems to be named after them
). And the car will probably be a right laugh to drive. But it’s not hugely attractive and it’s a SEAT, so it’ll depreciate as fast as it accelerates.
What will the price tag be? If it’s more than £15k i’ll stick to going after a Scirocco.
140mph and 0-60 in 7.4 appertenly
well they call themselves seat, so the seats had to be good.
A small Spanish number with a penchant for S&M [black mask on front]? Interesting. Very interesting. Certainly more memorable than the Scirocco, IMHO. The VW just doesn’t do it for me. But this is just pumped full of attitude… like a lot of the owners may well be (teenagers & early 20s).
well well I would order it in black if i were interested; taking care of the black mouth that way.
Looks good,like a mini lambo…but would you have that over a clio sport? or even a new polo gti? (saying that the polo will be rubbish cos VW wont want it being better than the Golf GTI!)
also you can pick up a second golf or Leon cupra R for the same price, in some cases cheaper!
Sorry to break this to you guys, but although it LOOKS nice, it wont be nice….and you all know im right
Sorry to break it to you guys but although it LOOKS nice it wont be nice to drive…..and you know it. Might as well just buy a used hot hatch thats much better for the same price…or a 500abarth
i really like it beacause its based on the ibiza cupra, but i will wait for the scirocco r20
Looks great – but this ain’t the quick one, FR and Cupra to follow, same styling more power. Looking forward to the release..late 2009.
Im liking that alot
THIS SEAT IS MIND BLOWING WELL DONE SEAT
GO.ADRIAN SUTIL F1
GO.DALE EARNHARDT JR NASCAR
GO.ADREW JORDON BTCC
dont care what it drives like, i want one.
dobrá kára