SEAT's Leon Cupra is a quiet talent; a star but not a shining one. Now, with the addition of an 'R' badge, the Leon is about to reveal the extent of its abilities. Because as well as revised suspension and upgraded brakes, the R boasts an extra 30bhp over the standard Cupra - taking the total to 210bhp and making it the most powerful SEAT to date.

SEAT has wheeled out the R badge before, of course. The Cupra R version of the last generation Ibiza cranked out 180bhp, making it the gutsiest hot hatch at the time, but it was a strictly limited edition of just 250 units. Its extreme character and (in the UK, at least) extreme price-tag made capping production a bright idea. The Ibiza R was developed by the company's motorsport division, SEAT Sport, and the Leon Cupra R comes from those same workshops.

A lot more development work seems to have gone into the Leon R than the old Ibiza and the under-the-skin changes are extensive. The engine is based on the 20-valve 1781cc turbo unit from the standard Leon Cupra, but has new inlet and exhaust manifolds, and a pair of intercoolers to chill the intake air as far as possible for superior combustion characteristics. Those intercoolers are the key to the R's uprated performance, helping to whack out some extra gee-gees and contributing to a spread of torque that remains flat at 199lb ft all the way from 2100rpm to 5000rpm. There's also a sportier exhaust system, with tailpipes tuned for some rort and snort.

The biggest bugbear of the Ibiza Cupra R was its overly track-biased suspension, so SEAT Sport has made a big effort to get the Leon's chassis right. The springs are relatively soft while the dampers have been hardened up, but that's just the start of the alterations. The geometry of the front suspension has been modified and its components now sit on a separate subframe whilst both front and rear suspension get revised 'silent block' bushes. The passive rear-wheel-steering effect has been enhanced and there's the welcome addition of a quicker steering rack at the front end. The brakes have also been upgraded and for the UK should come with a Brembo set-up that's optional in the rest of Europe.

We lucky Brits also get 18in alloys (essential when the Leon's fitted with the Brembo discs and callipers) as standard. They add an extra element of 'bad ass' to a mean-looking package of side-skirts, new bumpers and broader front grilles. It isn't OTT, but it does clearly spell out what the R's all about.

A full Recaro seating package, fronts and rears, is available and will probably be a ΂£1200 option. The reason it's not standard is that the bulkier front seats all but eliminate rear legroom, so only the more selfish driver would appreciate their inclusion. It may well be worth ditching friends and family, though, because the Recaros are marvellously embracing, a virtue you appreciate in the first series of bends you encounter.

On the Spanish launch we found an empty road, miserably surfaced, with as many twists and turns as an unravelled ball of string. The Cupra R attacked the tarmac with the savage enthusiasm of a rally car, leeching onto the surface with its 225/40 Pirelli P Zeros, nose zapping from lock to lock as quickly as I could physically twirl the steering wheel. Electronic stability control is standard, working sympathetically with keen drivers to keep the car on line without killing the power (or fun) too brusquely.

Over the aforementioned special stage the Ibiza R would have Magimixed your vital organs. but the Leon, while firmly suspended, sponged up all but the nastiest transverse ridges and dips. On motorways you could almost call it smooth. Same goes for the engine. While cruising it's slick, if occasionally boomy, but when roused it snarls aggressively.

It performs with relish, too. Not as manic as the Civic Type-R, sure, but with more than enough vigour to shoot it to near the front of the hot hatch action league. There's no turbo lag as such, but you are aware of the torque swelling to its peak just the other side of two-grand and then standing to attention throughout the mid-range and beyond. There's poke aplenty whenever you want it without the need to rev right round to the 7000rpm cut-out, though there's fun, and extra performance, to be had from going all the way. And compared with the standard Cupra's, the brakes are a revelation.

UK prices haven't been fixed yet - the Leon Cupra R isn't due here until the autumn - but the guesstimate is less than ΂£19,000. That's a ΂£4000 premium over the standard Cupra, but then it's a much better car. It's also heaps better than any Golf GTI. The only downer is that just 250 a year will make it to the UK and they're not likely to hang around for long.