SEAT Fórmula
Motor vehicle
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The SEAT Fórmula is a rear-wheel-drive mid-engined roadster concept car developed by the Spanish carmaker SEAT initially aimed at limited car production.[1] Designed at the Volkswagen Group's Design Center Europe at Sitges near Barcelona a facility jointly owned by Volkswagen, Audi and SEAT,[2] it was penned by a team directed by Erwin Leo Himmel[3] into which participated the Lotus Elise designer Julian Thomson exposing the design language of the future models of the brand.
| SEAT Fórmula | |
|---|---|
| |
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | SEAT, SA Stola |
| Production | 1999 (Concept car) |
| Assembly | Turin, Italy |
| Designer | Erwin Leo Himmel |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Sports car (S) |
| Body style | 2-door roadster |
| Layout | Mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive |
| Platform | aluminium spaceframe |
| Doors | Butterfly |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | 2.0 L (120 cu in) 20-valve Turbocharged I4 |
| Transmission | 6-speed sequential semi-automatic |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 2,523 mm (99.3 in) |
| Length | 3,943 mm (155.2 in) |
| Width | 1,758 mm (69.2 in) |
| Height | 1,152 mm (45.4 in) |
| Curb weight | 900 kg (2,000 lb) |
The name Fórmula itself derives from the brand's heritage from the past, as a reminding of the creation of the Spanish Fórmula Nacional race tracks back in the 1960s,[4] when SEAT started its implication in motorsport activities.[5][6]
The first concept for the car built by the Turinese company Stola was shown at the 1999 Geneva Salon international de l' auto, featuring a water-cooled 2-litre 20-valve turbo four-cylinder 240 hp engine which was riding onto an aluminium chassis weighing almost 900 kg.[7] Its 20-inch light alloy wheels (7.5 J × 20" front and 9 J × 20" rear) were fitted on 205/45 R20 front and 255/35 R20 rear tires and mounted onto an independent suspension system consisting of Formula One-style wishbones in front and horizontally mounted dampers rear system.[8] The combination of the very light chassis with the powerful engine (performing a maximum output of 240 bhp peaking at 5800 rpm and a maximum torque of 295 Nm between 2100 and 4800 rpm) and the six-speed sequential Sportronic electro-hydraulic semi-automatic gearbox,[9] both deriving from SEAT's rally cars, gave the SEAT Fórmula the ability to reach 0–100 km/h in 4.8 seconds with a top speed of 235 km/h.[10] As for the brakes, all front and rear wheels disposed ventilated disc brakes.
A 100-litre-volume luggage compartment was also available.[11]
