It’s not very often that the look of concept cars ends up being carried through to the production version, but in the case of the Seat Bocanegra the relity is looking pretty close to those early pictures.
Bocanegra is spanish for ‘black mouth’, and you can clearly see why the new Seat has got that name. At the front is a blacked-out grille area that incorporates new black headlight units and honeycomb mesh. The black area even incorporates the front bumper and merges up into the wider front wheelarches. Although this is basically a styling exercise based on an Ibiza, you can see how easily the Bocanegra shakes off the image of its lesser sibling with much bolder styling.
At the rear the most prominent feature is the centrally-mounted trapezoidal exhaust that sits in the middle of the chunky new rear bumper. The bumper features more honeycomb mesh on the side and merges into another set of widened wheelarches. Just to be sure there’s no mistaking it for an Ibiza there’s also a prominent ‘Bocanegra’ badge that almost covers the entire width of the rear hatch.
Other elements that further add to the Bocanegra’s image are black door mirror housings, a dark tinted sunroof and rear windows, and attractive new 17-inch ‘Sira’ alloys.
The inside gets some special treatment too. While much of it remains true to the Ibiza origins, the Bocenegra does get some fantastic sports seats that feature quilted material with red stitching. There is a scattering of ‘B’ badges on the seat headrests and on the new 3-spoke, flat-bottomed steering wheel. The dash gets a covering of glossy black plastic to carry forward the theme from the front of the car, and a final ‘B’ logo sits in the centre of the instrument display.
There’s a choice of engines for the Bocanegra, borrowed from the Ibiza FR and upcoming Cupra. Both are based on the 1.4-litre TFSi unit, one with 150bhp and the other with 180bhp. Both are available to order with a seven-speed DSG transmission and will also feature XDS as standard, Seat’s new electronic system that mimics the behaviour of a limite-slip differential, improving traction frmo the front wheels.
I have to say I think the Bocanegra is a stunning looking hatchback and I’m sure it’ll bring quite a few interested punters into Seat’s showrooms when it arrives in the UK later this year.
