Usually car advertising campaigns are usually the same. A beautiful, shining car that you get to see running on a perfect road. Cases when we find something funny, are rare, but exist. Here is for example the latest SEAT Ibiza SC advertising campaign intended for cinemas. The actors are the SEAT racing team drivers, who are running to get to drive the Ibiza, but fail to do so because a mystery woman pulls away victorious. Oh and she pulls the finger at them … That’s FUN!

Apparently 2008 has been the year of the eco-friendly cars and we already know what that means: cars that won’t get you bankrupt with the amount of fuel they “eat” when you push the pedal. At the Paris Motor Show this year, Seat introduced their new Ibiza Ecomotive that manages to get a 76.3 mpg from a 1.4 TDI engine that sports 80 hp. And the CO2 emissions are down at 98 g/km which is the lowest in its segment.

How they managed to do that? It’s the new engine software they’ve been working on, the low rolling resistance tires and the revised ratios. Plus some minor design modifications to make it more aerodynamic-friendly. It will be first released in the UK and will come in both the five door and the SportCoupe.

Good news for Sear fans. The Seat Bocanegra which was a concept during the Auto Show in Geneva and was supposed to give us hints on how the new Ibiza is going to look, it’s actually going to be produced. Our friends from AutoExpress found out the new 3dr SuperMini has been confirmed for production.

“When we showed the finished concept to our president Eric Schmitt, he said ‘I want one!’. And after the positive Geneva reception, there was no way we couldn’t put the Bocanegra into production” said Luc Donckerwolke, design director for SEAT.

With such a design many of you may neglect that it’s going to run with the 1.4-liter TSI twin turbo engine and a seven-speed semi-automatic DSG gearbox. It should output 180 hp.

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The much anticipated new Seat Ibiza makes its debut in Madrid on the 22 May 2008 after which it will be launched on the European market. Designed by the much acclaimed former Lamborghini designer Luc Donckerwolke, great things were expected. The design like its predecessor is typically aggressive in appearance and defined by its crisp lines and curves distinctive to the Seat family.

Three types of petrol engines will be made available to the public – 51kw three cylinder 1.2 litre, 63kw four cylinder 1.4 litre and a sporty 75kw 1.6 litre. All three fitted with 5 speed manual transmissions, turbo diesel motors will be made available at a later stage.

The Seat Ibiza once again shares its underpinnings with the upcoming Volkswagen Polo which is expected to be launched after the Ibiza. The Ibiza being built on its ‘Agile chassis’ boasts supposed better handling for improved cornering with solid road holding capabilities. The car is also slightly longer at 4,05m compared to the current Ibiza’s 3,97m therefore providing the much needed legroom in the rear of the cabin as well as a more practical amount of boot space.The Ibiza is also rumoured to possess twin clutch DSG gearboxes, active headlamps, USB connectivity, hill-hold assist, side airbags, ESP amongst other driver aids which are normally equipped on bigger cars.

South Africa’s launch date is yet to be announced but can be expected as soon as the end of this year.

SEAT is going to come up with a new Leon. I’m talking about the Supercopa that will be a limited edition (they’ve used us with them) with great specs. From what I know so far it’s going to top at 254 km/h thanks to a 2.0L Turbo FSI engine that outputs 285 hp and a torque of 360Nm. With such a plant under the hood the new SEAT Leon Supercopa is able to do 0 to 100 km/h in only 5.9 seconds and to my surprise the mixed fuel consumption is 8.3L for every 100 km you drive and the CO2 emissions are 199 g/km.

Such a new toy comes with improved brake discs and Eibach springs, a SEAT SPORT body kit and 18-inch alloy wheels painted in black to make it look gorgeous. The price is only €38,500.

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The only way Seat managed to get the attention this year during the Auto Show in Geneva, was obviously their Seat Bocanegra Concept, which is saying a lot about the new Ibiza announced for the Auto Show in Madrid and the new Seat saloon we’ll be seeing next year. In Spanish, Bocanegra means “Black Mouth” and I guess the large front with LED lights and the aggressiveness are saying a lot about it.

“The SEAT SportCoupé ´Bocanegra´ is a sporty, design oriented prototype, with which we want our brand´s position to stand out. At the same time, the ´Bocanegra´ is an outlook of the future design language of SEAT” said  Erich Schmitt.

It does look powerful, but I am a little disappointed to see that it’s going to be powered by a 1.4L twin turbo TSI engine and has a seven speed DSG transmission. At least it does come with 19-inch alloy wheels and Seat’s Agile Chassis for a sportier drive. At last it’s rumored to come in FR-style with a 1.4L turbo (150hp) and a Cupra  version with a 1.8L turbo. Sounds about right.

via WindingRoad

For me Seat is not just a famous Spanish car manufacturer but one with sporty looks and performances. Knowing the success their Ibiza model had so far and the fact that they sold 120,000 units in 2007 they want to keep it “running” so a redesign is very much needed. Apparently the new Seat Ibiza will be seen at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show.
Meanwhile I’ve found some spy shots for you to see while I tell you it will be produced in the same three-doors and five-doors versions. The new Ibiza is supposed to hit the streets by the end of 2008 or early 2009 and they say it looks “almost like a coupe”.

Source: AutoNews (subs required)