• The five-cylinder engine of the CUPRA Formentor VZ5 is the result of meticulous craftsmanship to ensure maximum performance
• The team working on the engines of CUPRA’s fastest and most powerful car was selected for its high capacity to perform tasks of millimetric precision
• Designed, developed, and produced at the SEAT Martorell plant, the limited edition VZ5 of the CUPRA Formentor is the ultimate expression of sportiness with a combustion engine

You could say that the engine is the heart of a car. What many people don’t know is that in the case of the CUPRA Formentor VZ5, the brand’s most powerful model, this heart is the result of a completely handcrafted process. The model is designed, developed, and produced at the SEAT Martorell plant near Barcelona. Its five-cylinder engine, meanwhile, is assembled on the Volkswagen Group’s high-performance engine line at the Audi Hungaria factory in Győr, Hungary, in a process that’s carried out with meticulous manual choreography to ensure maximum performance. 

A work of superior craftsmanship. “Craftsmanship is essential in the production of such an exclusive, high-performance engine as the one in the CUPRA Formentor VZ5,” explains Robert Buttenhauser, Member of the Board of Management Production Powertrain at Audi Hungaria. Given its uniqueness and complexity, attention to detail is even more crucial. Therefore, only the most highly qualified professionals are allowed to work on this line. “The team involved in its manufacture is made up of highly trained profiles that have been selected for their talent, experience and passion” he says. After previously spending several years in other engine assembly positions, “workers here have proven their ability to perform tasks that require meticulous precision” adds Buttenhauser.

A millimetre-exact puzzle. A single VZ5 engine is made up of 500 parts and requires about 40 people to assemble it. In this way, only 77 engines are produced daily, a figure in line with the model’s exclusivity as only 7,000 CUPRA Formentor VZ5 limited edition units will be released worldwide. The maximum expression of combustion performance for car enthusiasts before the brand fulfils its ambition of becoming fully electrified by 2030.

Performance to the test. The CUPRA Formentor VZ5, named after the Spanish word “veloz” (fast), is the ultimate expression of sportiness in a combustion-powered model. Christoph Vierling, director of Whole Vehicle and Chassis Development at CUPRA, says “this car redefines engineering and pushes its power to the limit.” And he adds: “an example of this is the characteristic sound of its five-cylinder engine, beats of pure emotion.” Accordingly, the performance tests that the engine undergoes are just as unique as the vehicle itself. “100% of the engines are thoroughly tested on this line” says Buttenhauser. “To live up to the 390 hp power output of the CUPRA Formentor VZ5, every single engine is started, and their operation is hot-run tested even before they’re mounted in the car” he adds.

The CUPRA Formentor VZ5 performance figures

5-cylinder engine
390 hp output
Top speed 250 km/h (electronically limited)
20-inch alloy wheels
6 pot calliper AKEBONO brakes and 375 x 36 mm ventilated drilled discs
7,000 exclusive units

CUPRA HQ Communications

Elisabet Anglada
Head of Content Activation
M/ +34 689 282 093
elisabet.anglada@seat.es

Rocío Soria
Content Generation
M/ +34 689 28 14 32
rocio.soria@seat.es

Gemma Solà
TV & Media Activations
M/ +34 639 944 087
gemma.sola@seat.es