In May 2023, JE DESIGN had already presented a WIDEBODY kit in RS look for the Cupra Leon KL Sportstourer. This kit has now also been adapted for the compact Cupra Leon Hatchback by the tuner from Leingarten near Heilbronn in Swabia. The front and side sections have been adopted without any major changes, but the Swabians have made significant changes to the rear.

As with the station wagon, a sporty look with added aerodynamic value was the focus of the development team led by Jochen Eckelt. The aerodynamics in particular were to undergo a record-breaking development in the course of the project - but more on that later.

Let's start with the familiar components on the front and side of the vehicle. These consist of a three-part front spoiler, small air outlet trims on the fenders and a side skirt. The front spoiler with its longitudinally adjustable center section is the first basic aero component. By switching between the "Race" and "Street" position, more downforce can be generated on the front axle. The side skirts and air outlet trims essentially only serve visual purposes. Both parts are made of ABS and come in a glossy black finish, which makes painting possible but not necessary.

The genuine carbon mirror caps, on the other hand, should definitely not be painted. The 64 g lightweight covers can be quickly fitted using pre-assembled adhesive tape and give the sporty Spaniard a subtle racing look just as quickly.
Less discreet are the wheel arch extensions including the side aero winglets. These ensure optimized brake ventilation by improving the air flow through the air ducts and create a kind of air curtain through their inlets and outlets. This effect ensures improved airflow around the vehicle at the front and rear axles. The first visible change compared to the Sportstourer also took place in rear axle area. The rear winglets have been adapted by the tuner to the body shape of the compact Cupra Leon.

However, the difference to the longer model brother is most obvious on the tailgate. Here, JE DESIGN has developed an entire rear wing tail unit for the Cupra. The tail unit consists of a solid rear wing with large side blades with which the part is glued to the tailgate. The double wing attachments and an additional wing in the lower section complete the tail unit and provide a massive 180 kg of downforce on the rear axle, measured at 200 km/h. To tame these forces, an aluminum gooseneck mounted in the middle of the roof provides even more stability. In order to maintain the aerodynamic balance, the rear wing must be installed in combination with the aforementioned front spoiler.

Jochen Eckelt quickly realized the racing suitability of this aero package and it came at just the right time. Because it was precisely at this time that the record set by JE DESIGN in 2015 with a converted Seat Leon Cupra as the fastest road-legal front-wheel drive car on the Sachsenring was beaten by a Golf. These time measurements have been carried out by Auto Bild Sportscars for many years and provided the perfect opportunity to demonstrate the potential of the new widebody. In cooperation with Garage Winandy (Cupra dealer) from Luxembourg and other partners who were also on board in 2015, a Cupra Leon was put on wheels to bring the record back into the home trophy cabinet.
This WIDEBODY RS-R took part in the test in October 2023 and, driven by Steve Kirsch, set a fabulous time of 1:32.82 on the Sachsenring asphalt, beating the previous record by 1.93 seconds!

The aerodynamic efficiency and more tire contact area thanks to the additional width were the basis for this success. The KW V4 Clubsport suspension, an extremely lightweight LiteBlox performance battery, motorsport rims from ATS and an APR performance upgrade from Stage48 in Luxembourg then catapulted the Leon into unimagined time regions, for example the time of the Lamborghini Huracán LP610-4 was undercut by two hundredths. Due to this impressive performance and the resulting inquiries, the tuner is now also making initial plans for a limited WIDEBODY RS-R special series.

But now back to the "daily driver" from the track tool. For everyday use, JE DESIGN offers the in-house performance wheel in 10 x 19 instead of the motorsport rim with semi-slick, which is also weight-optimized thanks to the flow forming process. Tires are fitted in size 255/30 R 19. The wheel is supplied in "Racing Silver" as standard, but can be ordered in any RAL color (including matt) on customer request.

Compared to the KW Clubsport suspension, the more comfortable JE DESIGN lowering springs bring the Cupra 20 mm closer to the asphalt at the front and 10 mm at the rear. The standard electronic DCC suspension remains fully functional with the JE DESIGN lowering kit.

In order to ensure problem-free registration, all parts are supplied with corresponding parts certificates and EC approvals. The tuner also offers the necessary certificates for Switzerland.

All prices can be found in the JE DESIGN store.