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113-709: It has competed in rallying and touring car racing , and also develops high performance versions of road cars. The result of this effort has been rewarded through SEAT's most prestigious titles in FIA championships, three conquests with the SEAT Ibiza Kit-Car in the FIA 2-Litre World Rally Cup in 1996 , 1997, 1998, and two wins with the SEAT León in the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) in 2008 and 2009 . Cupra also won

226-589: A European Rally Championship (at first called the "Touring Championship") of eleven events; it was first won by Helmut Polensky of Germany. This was the premier international rallying championship until 1973, when the FIA created the World Rally Championship for Manufacturers . Initially, most of the major post-war rallies were fairly gentlemanly, but the organisers of the French Alpine and

339-435: A circuit , but instead in a point-to-point format in which participants leave at regular intervals from one or more start points. Rallies generally fall under two categories, road rallies and cross-country (off-road). Different types of rally are described however a rally may be a mix of types. Road rallies are the original form held on public highways open to traffic. In its annually published International Sporting Code ,

452-562: A hillclimb and a speed trial, but it was marred by poor organisation and confusing regulations. One participant had been Prince Henry of Austria, who with the Imperial Automobile Club of Germany, later created the first Prinz Heinrich Fahrt (Prince Henry Trial) in 1908. Another trial was held in 1910. These were very successful, attracting top drivers and works cars from major teams – several manufacturers added "Prince Henry" models to their ranges. The first Alpine Trial

565-646: A 1.6T engine and 2.0 TDI engine both supplied by SEAT Sport, Daryll O'Young has only used the 1.6T engine but Tom Boardman used the 2.0TDI from the start of the season till round 7. SUNRED engineering ran a SEAT Sport 2.0TDI engine at the start of the season in Andrea Barlesi's car but then switched to the SUNRED 1.6T engine from rounds 2-3. Between 2004 and 2008 , SEAT Sport competed in the British Touring Car Championship , under

678-604: A Customer Supply team, SEAT Sport supplied engines in 2012 to the Lukoil Racing Team who run two 1.6T cars driven by veteran SEAT Driver Gabriele Tarquini and Aleksei Dudukalo. They also supplied 1.6T Engines to the Tuenti Racing Team who ran cars for Pepe Oriola and Fernando Monje, Tuenti Racing Team driver Tiago Monteiro ran a SEAT Sport TDI engine for the first weekend but then switched to a 1.6T engine supplied by SUNRED. Special Tuning Racing have run both

791-562: A Spanish city with the same name , with the fourth generation being introduced at the end of 2012, for the model year of 2013. Production ended in February 2019, and the nameplate is currently not in use. The initial version of the SEAT Toledo ( Typ 1L) was launched as a four-door fastback saloon , and its sales career lasted from May 1991 to March 1999. Technically it was a five-door liftback , as its boot lid opened together with

904-618: A certain single-minded ruthlessness. Rather gentler (and more akin to modern rallying) was the Glidden Tour , run by the American Automobile Association between 1902 and 1913, which had timed legs between control points and a marking system to determine the winners. The First World War brought a lull to motorsport. The Monte Carlo Rally was not revived until 1924, but since then, apart from World War II and its aftermath, it has been an annual event and remains

1017-538: A challenge for the crew and a test of the car's performance and reliability. A single-venue rally takes place without the need for public road sections though the format and rules remain. In the wake of the ever more advanced rally cars of the late 20th and 21st century is a trend towards historic rallying (also known as classic rallying ), in which older cars can continue to rally. Historic rallies are usually regularity rallies with no speed tests arranged. This discipline attracts some former professional drivers back into

1130-489: A form of motorsport. A touring assembly may have an organised route and simple passage controls but not any form of competition held or prizes given. One example, the Gumball 3000 , which calls itself ' a rally not a race ', explicitly states in its terms that no form of competition between participants must take place. The FIA defined this activity under 'rally of the touring kind' at least until 2007, though have now separated

1243-516: A manufacturer-backed team. However, in January 2010, it was announced that they would provide backing to the newly formed SR-Sport team run by SUNRED Engineering, while also confirming Gabriele Tarquini, Jordi Gene , Tiago Monteiro and Tom Coronel as 2010 drivers, as Yvan Muller departed for the works Chevrolet team. For 2012 , SEAT announced that they will return to the WTCC Season as

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1356-897: A more southerly route before boarding a ship in Lisbon. Disembarking in Rio de Janeiro the route travelled southward into Argentina before turning northwards along the western coast of South America before arriving in Mexico City. The Ford Escort of Hannu Mikkola and Gunnar Palm won. These were followed in 1974 by the London-Sahara-Munich World Cup Rally, and in 1977 by the Singapore Airlines London-Sydney Rally. The 1974 London-Sahara-Munich World Cup Rally followed four years later. The rally travelled southwards into Africa but

1469-527: A motoring rally. One early example of a true motor rally, the 1909 Auto Rally Day in Denison, Iowa , United States, gathered approximately 100 vehicles owned by local residents for no other real reason than to give rides to members of the public, using fuel paid for by local businessmen who hoped the event would help sell cars. In the case of the 1910 Good Roads Rally held in Charleston, South Carolina ,

1582-464: A much more fluid design, although both were products of Giorgetto Giugiaro 's Italdesign studio, with the latest generation being influenced by SEAT's chief of exterior design Steve Lewis. It shared components with its Volkswagen and Škoda PQ34 platform mates, the Volkswagen Bora and the Škoda Octavia , being positioned as the sportiest of the three. In the interior, the dashboard

1695-553: A navigational error saw most of the rally become lost in Algerian desert. Eventually only seven teams reached the southernmost point of the rally in Nigeria with five teams making it back to West Germany having driven all legs and only the winning team completing the full distance. This, coupled with the economic climate of the 1970s the heat went out of intercontinental rallying after a second London–Sydney Marathon in 1977. The concept

1808-755: A new Cupra Tavascan Extreme E Concept design. For Rounds 5 and 6, 2022 season champion Sébastien Loeb replaced Al-Attiyah due to the event clashing with the Baja World Cup , of which Al-Attiyah is leading. Loeb replaced Al-Attiyah again for Rounds 7 and 8. The team clinched their first podium finishes of the season by finishing in second in Round 7 and third in Round 8 at the Island X-Prix II. Abt Cupra also secured their first best qualifier in Extreme E in Round 8. Adrien Tambay will partner Andersson for

1921-446: A petrol SEAT Leon Under the team name Special Tuning UK with sponsorship from Club SEAT. Phil Glew joined Tom in a SEAT for one weekend at Silverstone racing under the team name of YourRacingCar.com but the car was run by Special Tuning UK. In 2011 , Boardman and Dave Newsham drove petrol SEATs under the team name Special Tuning Racing. Special Tuning Racing where not associated with SEAT Sport or SEAT Sport UK. Boardman came first in

2034-569: A quarter hours for the 550 km (340 mi) to Bordeaux, an average of 105 km/h (65.3 mph). Speeds had now exceeded the safe limits of dusty highways thronged with spectators and open to other traffic, people and animals and there were numerous crashes, many injuries and eight deaths. The French government stopped the race and banned this style of event. From then on, racing in Europe (apart from Italy) would be on closed circuits, initially on long loops of public highway and then, in 1907, on

2147-496: A rally was organised to promote the need for better roads. The rally itself had no competition and most vehicles were expected to be parked for its duration. The programme included a visit to some ongoing roadworks, a vehicle parade, with food, drink, dancing and music also arranged. However, the Automobile Club of Columbia , who had members attending the event, independently organised their own road competition to contest on

2260-606: A regular round of the World Rally Championship. In the 1930s, helped by the tough winters, it became the premier European rally, attracting 300 or more participants. In the 1920s, numerous variations on the Alpine theme sprang up in Austria, Italy, France, Switzerland and Germany. The most important of these were Austria's Alpenfahrt , which continued into its 44th edition in 1973, Italy's Coppa delle Alpi , and

2373-503: A regularity rally. Similar to a regularity rally, the itinerary may advise a time and/or distance, or may only advise a target average speed with no indication where the checkpoints may be. The ability of the crew to follow road signs or directions of varying depth of information is tested. Gimmick rallies have less of a concern on timekeeping or driving ability and include other fun and games. Examples include: These rallies are primarily amateur events. Stage rallying simply divides

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2486-454: A series of manoeuvrability and car control tests; the latter a thinly disguised road race over some of Europe's toughest mountain roads. In Ireland, the first Ulster Motor Rally (1931) was run from multiple starting points. After several years in this format, it transitioned into the 1,000-mile (1,600 km) Circuit of Ireland Rally . In Italy, Benito Mussolini 's government encouraged motorsport of all kinds and facilitated road racing, so

2599-518: A serious accident in 1957 caused it to be banned. Meanwhile, in 1981, the Tour de France was revived by the Automobile-Club de Nice as a different kind of rally, based primarily on a series of races at circuits and hillclimbs around the country. It was successful for a while and continued until 1986. It spawned similar events in a few other countries, but none survive. In countries where there

2712-705: A six speed manual transmission . The 130 PS TDI also featured white dials instead of the standard black dials on the 110 and 150 PS TDI models. Production of the Typ 1M Toledo ended in July 2004. In 2003, SEAT Sport introduced the SEAT Toledo Cupra Mk2 in the European Touring Car Championship (ETCC) with drivers Jordi Gené , Frank Diefenbacher and former British Touring Car Championship winner Rickard Rydell , while

2825-506: A social, political or religious cause. Motor car rallies were probably being arranged as motor clubs and automobile associations were beginning to form shortly after the first motor cars were being produced. "Auto Rallies" were common events in the USA in the early twentieth century for the purpose of political caucusing , however many of these rallies were coincidentally aimed at motorists who could attend in convenient fashion rather than being

2938-399: A speed limit of 25kph imposed, the competitive elements were partly based on cleanliness, condition and elegance of the cars and required a jury to choose a winner. However, getting to Monaco in winter was a challenge in itself. A second event was held in 1912. Rallying as a form of road competition can be traced back to the origins of motorsport, including the world's first known motor race;

3051-503: A total distance of at least 5000 km. Hill rallies are a type of cross-country event found in the United Kingdom and defined and governed by Motorsport UK . Assemblies of car enthusiasts and their vehicles may still colloquially be called rallies, even if they involve merely the task of getting to the location (often on a trailer). However, static assemblies that simply 'meet' (akin to a caravan or steam rally ) are not considered

3164-524: A truly tough event. In 1956 came Corsica's Tour de Corse , 24 hours of virtually non-stop flat out driving on some of the narrowest and twistiest mountain roads on the planet – the first major rally to be won by a woman, Belgium's Gilberte Thirion , in a Renault Dauphine . These events were road races in all but name, but in Italy such races were still allowed, and the Mille Miglia continued until

3277-557: A winner, which made it unattractive to foreign crews. In 1961, Jack Kemsley was able to persuade the Forestry Commission to open their many hundreds of miles of well surfaced and sinuous gravel roads, and the event was transformed into one of the most demanding and popular in the calendar, by 1983 having over 600 miles (970 km) of stage. It was later renamed Rally GB . Rallying also took off in Spain and Portugal and by

3390-463: Is a wide-ranging form of motorsport with various competitive motoring elements such as speed tests (sometimes called "rally racing" in United States), navigation tests, or the ability to reach waypoints or a destination at a prescribed time or average speed. Rallies may be short in the form of trials at a single venue, or several thousand miles long in an extreme endurance rally. Depending on

3503-565: Is part of a special edition line presented at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show . This model is equipped with Full Link Technology and a Samsung Galaxy A3 smartphone. This allows the user to connect to the car and access connectivity features of the SEAT ConnectApp right on the dashboard. The SEAT Toledo CONNECT is available in a range of exterior body colours that also allow the mirrors and wheels to be customised. Interior details, including stitching are in blue. The fourth generation of

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3616-441: Is used to determine the classification of the rally's competitors; the quickest time to complete the special stages wins the rally. These are sections of road closed to traffic and authorised to be used for speed tests. Special stages are linked by open roads where navigation, timekeeping, and road traffic law rules must be followed. These open road sections are sometimes called transport stages, somewhat complementing special stages in

3729-586: The Automobile Club de France sponsored the longest race to date, a 1,710 km (1,060 mi) event from Bordeaux to Agen and back. Because it was held in ten stages, it can be considered the first stage rally. The first three places were taken by a Panhard, a Panhard, and a three-wheeler De Dion-Bouton . In the Paris–Madrid race of May 1903, the Mors of Fernand Gabriel took just under five and

3842-657: The 2009 British Touring Car Championship season , like the Motorbase Performance , the Team Air Cool/GR Asia , the BTC Racing and the Maxtreme teams. The third generation Toledo ( Typ 5P) was introduced in 2004, and as a production car made its début at the 2004 Paris Motor Show . However, a preview of it had already been revealed at the 2004 Madrid Motor Show, with the presentation of

3955-587: The 2020–21 season , announced they would return for the 2022–23 season with Cupra as Abt Cupra Formula E Team using powertrains from Mahindra Racing . The team signed Nico Müller and Robin Frijns as drivers for the team. Kelvin van der Linde was signed to replaced Frijns after the latter suffered a wrist and hand fracture at the Mexico City e-Prix . Mahindra withdrew from the Cape Town e-Prix after

4068-672: The British Touring Car Championship with two SEAT Toledo Cupras Mk2 identical to those used in the European Touring Car Championship under the 'SEAT Sport UK' banner. Initially, the SEAT Sport UK cars were campaigned by RML Group although at the end of the year the partnership was dissolved as RML entered the WTCC with Chevrolet and the team was run by Northern South since 2005. At the wheel were Jason Plato , Rob Huff , James Pickford and Luke Hines . However, there were also independent teams running with SEAT Toledo Cupras Mk2 till

4181-771: The Coupe Internationale des Alpes (International Alpine Trial), organised jointly by the automobile clubs of Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and, latterly, France. This last event, run from 1928 to 1936, attracted strong international fields vying for an individual Glacier Cup or a team Alpine Cup, including successful Talbot , Riley , MG and Triumph teams from Britain and increasingly strong and well funded works representation from Adolf Hitler 's Germany, keen to prove its engineering and sporting prowess with successful marques like Adler , Wanderer and Trumpf. The French started their own Rallye des Alpes Françaises in 1932, which continued after World War II as

4294-599: The Cupra Tavascan Extreme E Concept design. Klara Andersson replaced Kleinschmidt for the last two rounds of the season. The team earned their second podium by finishing third in the Copper X-Prix and earned their first race victory in the Energy X-Prix . The team finished the season in sixth place. Abt Cupra entered the 2023 season with Andersson and Al-Attiyah and will also introduce

4407-469: The FIA ETCR – eTouring Car World Cup in 2021 and 2022 before the series was discontinued in 2023. Cupra partnered with Abt Sportsline as Abt Cupra in the all-electric SUV off-road racing series Extreme E from 2021 to 2023 and the open-wheel single-seater electric motorsport championship Formula E from 2022 to 2024 . SEAT's first serious attempt at a World Rally Championship (WRC)

4520-556: The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) includes the following definition of rally: Rally: Road Competition with an imposed average speed run entirely or partly on roads open to normal traffic. A Rally consists either of a single itinerary..., or of several itineraries converging on a rallying-point fixed beforehand.... The route may include one or several special stages, i.e. events organised on roads closed to normal traffic, and which together determine

4633-485: The Rallye International des Alpes , the name often shortened to Coupe des Alpes . Other rallies started between the wars included Britain's RAC Rally (1932) and Belgium's Liège-Rome-Liège or just Liège, officially called "Le Marathon de la Route" (1931), two events of radically different character; the former a gentle tour between cities from various start points, "rallying" at a seaside resort with

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4746-724: The SEAT León Supercopa in Spain, a one-make series featuring the SEAT León . This format has since expanded across Europe, with the formation of the SEAT León Eurocup in 2008. In 2003, SEAT began entering the SEAT Toledo Cupra in the European Touring Car Championship (ETCC) with drivers Jordi Gené and Frank Diefenbacher . Former British Touring Car Championship winner Rickard Rydell joined them in 2004, taking their first victory. In 2005 ,

4859-623: The SEAT Toledo Prototipo . Production lasted from February 2004 to May 2009. Its bodywork is completely different from the previous two generations: abandoning the traditional three box saloon format, the Toledo Mk3 has a five-door hatchback sedan design penned by Walter de'Silva , although now closer to a compact MPV with the Altea 's front section, a high roof, and a rear end inspired by Renault Vel Satis , paying homage to

4972-594: The Volkswagen Group , is advertised as capable of running on either mineral diesel or biodiesel . This model later received a mild facelift in September 1995, and made its début at the 1995 Frankfurt Motor Show . Sales were not strong however, as has been the case for all the generations of the Toledo. The following engines were available: SEAT Toledo Marathon SEAT Toledo Class 2 This generation of

5085-643: The Volkswagen Polo . The Ibiza allowed the company to start building its rallying experience, and was officially engaged in some European national championships. The years went by and little success followed until a 2L version of the Ibiza was homologated as a kit-car, and extra wide tracks, larger wheels, brakes, etc., were fitted to it as the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) kit-car regulations allow. With these attributes,

5198-560: The 'SEAT Sport Italia' Toledo Cupra Mk2 with Gianni Morbidelli also participated as an additional team. As in 2005, the ETCC became the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC), the SEAT Toledo Cupra Mk2 competed in the WTCC from 2005 to 2006 . Peter Terting replaced Diefenbacher, while Jason Plato also joined the team for four rounds and Marc Carol for one round. In 2004 and 2005 SEAT Sport also ran in

5311-451: The 1894 Paris–Rouen Horseless Carriage Competition ( Concours des Voitures sans Chevaux ). Sponsored by a Paris newspaper, Le Petit Journal , it attracted considerable public interest and entries from leading manufacturers. The official winner was Albert Lemaître driving a 3 hp Peugeot , although the Comte de Dion had finished first but his steam-powered vehicle was ineligible for

5424-697: The 1960s had spread to their colonial territories in the mid-Atlantic. By the end of the 1960s events had not only begun in Madeira and the Canary Islands , but also on the far-flung Azores . SEAT Toledo The SEAT Toledo is a small family car produced by the Spanish manufacturer SEAT , part of Volkswagen Group . The Toledo name was first introduced to the SEAT line up in May 1991 being named after

5537-714: The Chery rebadged models, the first generation Toledo is also currently built by the Russian car maker TagAZ , rebranded as the Vortex Corda . The second generation Toledo ( Typ 1M) was introduced in 1998, and made its début at the 1998 Paris Motor Show as a four-door notchback saloon . Sales commenced in October 1998. It went on sale there in March 1999. It was more rounded than the previous first generation shape and had

5650-491: The Córdoba, and results weren't impressive. The main drivers were ex-WRC champion Didier Auriol , along with Harri Rovanpera and rising Finnish star Toni Gardemeister . They did achieve three podium finishes; at the 1999 Rally New Zealand (Gardemeister), the 1999 Rally of Great Britain (Rovanpera) as well as the 2000 Safari Rally (Auriol). SEAT pulled out of international rallying at the end of 2000. In 2002 SEAT Sport set up

5763-591: The ETCC became the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC). Peter Terting replaced fellow German Diefenbacher. Jason Plato also joined the team for four rounds, and Marc Carol for one round. Later in 2005, the León model made its debut. In 2006 , Gabriele Tarquini , Yvan Muller and James Thompson joined the team. André Couto , Oscar Nogués and Florian Gruber also raced in one-off rounds. In 2007 , Rydell, Thompson and Terting left

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5876-454: The German works teams shortly before their countries were overrun. This was one of five Liège wins for Trasenster; Trevoux won four Montes between 1934 and 1951. Rallying was again slow to get under way after a major war, but by the 1950s there were many long-distance road rallies. In Europe, the Monte Carlo Rally, the French and Austrian Alpines, and the Liège were joined by a host of new events that quickly established themselves as classics:

5989-480: The Lisbon Rally (Portugal, 1947), the Tulip Rally (the Netherlands, 1949), the Rally to the Midnight Sun (Sweden, 1951, now the Swedish Rally ), the Rally of the 1000 Lakes (Finland, 1951 – now the Rally Finland ), and the Acropolis Rally (Greece, 1956). The RAC Rally gained International status on its return in 1951, but for 10 years its emphasis on map-reading navigation and short manoeuvrability tests made it unpopular with foreign crews. The FIA created in 1953

6102-448: The Liège (which moved its turning point from Rome into Yugoslavia in 1956) straight away set difficult time schedules: the Automobile Club de Marseille et Provence laid on a long tough route over a succession of rugged passes, stated that cars would have to be driven flat out from start to finish, and gave a coveted Coupe des Alpes ("Alpine Cup") to anyone achieving an unpenalised run; while Belgium's Royal Motor Union made clear no car

6215-462: The Royal Automobile Club held its 2,000 mi (3,200 km) International Touring Car Trial, and in 1914 the Light Car Trial for manufacturers of cars up to 1400 cc, to test comparative performances. In 1924, the exercise was repeated as the Small Car Trials. In Germany , the Herkomer Trophy was first held in 1905, and again in 1906. This challenging five-day event attracted over 100 entrants to tackle its 1,000 km (620 mi) road section,

6328-475: The Royal Automobile Club) organised the Thousand Mile Trial, a 15-day event linking Britain's major cities in order to promote this novel form of transport. Seventy vehicles took part, the majority of them trade entries. They had to complete thirteen stages of route varying in length from 43 to 123 miles (69 to 198 km) at average speeds of up to the legal limit of 12 mph (19 km/h), and tackle six hillclimb or speed tests. On rest days and at lunch halts,

6441-403: The SEAT Sport UK banner. Jason Plato drove for the team for five years, while Rob Huff , James Pickford , Luke Hines , Darren Turner , James Thompson and WTCC regular Tom Coronel (as a one-off) also competed. Initially the cars were run by RML Group until they began concentrating on the Chevrolet WTCC project. Plato finished as championship runner-up in 2006 and 2007. In 2008 the TDi version

6554-409: The SEAT Toledo still ranks within the list of the United Kingdom's one hundred most reliable cars of the last decade. SEAT released an Audi A4 (B7) based large family car called the SEAT Exeo in October 2008, with both four door saloon and five door estate bodystyles . The Exeo was not intended as a direct replacement for the Toledo according to the company, although production of the Toledo

6667-483: The Toledo has also been produced by the Chinese manufacturer Chery , and sold under the names of Chery A11 , Chery Windcloud and Chery A15 , Chery A168 , Chery Amulet , Chery Cowin , Chery Qiyun , Chery Flagcloud . Chery acquired the chassis of the 1993 Toledo from a Mexican dealership, after authorisation from SEAT. Chery Cowin, which is based on the SEAT Toledo, already has an authorisation to market it in Europe, along with Russia and South America. Apart from

6780-449: The Toledo has been a markedly reliable vehicle – more so than the Audi A3 and Volkswagen Golf, with which it shares platforms. In May 2006, Warranty Direct , a provider based in the United Kingdom of mechanical warranties for used cars, rated the Toledo with a higher reliability index compared to the Golf produced over the same period and the Audi A3. In 2010, and though out of production, the Warranty direct's Reliability index marks that

6893-421: The Toledo received generally negative reviews from critics. In October 2014, Top Gear Magazine placed the Toledo on its list of The Worst Cars You Can Buy Right Now . What Car? awarded it 2 stars out of 5, noting that the Toledo is "at odds with the sporty image SEAT likes to portray its cars as having" while also having a firm ride. Criticism was targeted towards the hard plastics in its interior as well. On

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7006-459: The V5 engine was uprated with a 20v head (four valves per cylinder), boosting power to 170 PS (125 kW; 168 bhp). Later in the series, the 1.8 litre twenty valve Toledo received a turbocharger , capable of delivering 180 PS (132 kW; 178 bhp), and a later evolution of the VW TDI engine, produced engines of 130 PS (96 kW; 128 bhp) and 150 PS (110 kW; 148 bhp). These three versions all featured

7119-425: The arrival of a 170 PS (125 kW; 168 bhp) TDI engine in 2006, as well as a tiptronic gearbox in the 2.0 FSI model. A 1.8 L turbocharged version of this engine became available in the middle of 2007. The internal combustion engines used are the same as for many other cars in the Volkswagen Group , and are all inline four cylinder engines . * only for some export markets Along with other SEATs,

7232-410: The car won the 2L World Championship three times ('96, '97, '98). SEATs three conquests of the 2L FIA title, and the sport's popularity in Spain, convinced Volkswagen Group management to go further, and allocate sufficient budgets to the SEAT Sport department so as to allow it a chance to reach its goal. SEAT's project to build a WRC-spec car was officially announced during the 1997 San Remo rally. It

7345-415: The cars were shown to the public in exhibition halls. This event was followed in 1901 by a five-day trial based in Glasgow The Scottish Automobile Club organised an annual Glasgow–London non-stop trial from 1902 to 1904, then the Scottish Reliability Trial from 1905. The Motor Cycling Club allowed cars to enter its trials and runs from 1904 (London– Edinburgh , London– Land's End , London– Exeter ). In 1908

7458-482: The conclusion of the 2023–24 season and will be using Lola - Yamaha powertrains for the 2024–25 season onwards. The team will enter the season as Lola Yamaha Abt Formula E Team, leaving Cupra's partnership status up in the air. In November, it was announced that Lola has taken over Abt's Formula E entrants' licence, ending Cupra's run in the series. (Races in bold indicate best qualifiers; races in italics indicate fastest super sector) Rallying Rallying

7571-401: The cost – financial, social and environmental – of putting them on in an increasingly complex and developed world, although smaller road races continued long after, and a few still do in countries like Bolivia . In Africa, 1950 saw the first French-run Algiers-Cape Town Rally , a 10,000-mile (16,000 km) rally from the Mediterranean to South Africa ; it was run on and off until 1961, when

7684-471: The end of 2012, and the rest of Europe and Mexico in the beginning of 2013, with the all new Toledo sitting in between the smaller Ibiza supermini and the larger León small family car . The Toledo received a five star rating in the Euro NCAP . The Toledo was pulled from UK sales lineup due to poor sales in November 2018. In February 2019, the Toledo ended production although sales in selected markets continued well into 2020. The SEAT Toledo CONNECT

7797-478: The final push across Australia to Sydney. It attracted over 100 crews including a number of works teams and top drivers; it was won by the Hillman Hunter of Andrew Cowan/Brian Coyle/Colin Malkin. The huge success of this event saw the creation of the World Cup Rallies, linked to Association Football's FIFA World Cup. The first was the 1970 London to Mexico World Cup Rally which saw competitors travel from London eastwards across to Bulgaria before turning westwards on

7910-481: The final two rounds of the season. The team suffered its first DNS on Round 9 after Andersson crashed after colliding with McLaren 's Hedda Hosås during qualifying. Abt Cupra finished the season in sixth place. In December 2023, Abt Cupra announced that the team will not return for the 2024 season to focus on Formula E but are open to entering the new hydrogen -based off-road racing series Extreme H in 2025. In May 2022, Abt Sportsline, who left Formula E after

8023-468: The first purpose-built track, England's Brooklands . Italy had been running road competitions since 1895, when a reliability trial was run from Turin to Asti and back. The country's first true motor race was held in 1897 along the shore of Lake Maggiore, from Arona to Stresa and back. This led to a long tradition of road racing, including events like Sicily's Targa Florio (from 1906 ) and Giro di Sicilia (Tour of Sicily, 1914), which went right round

8136-453: The format, rallies may be organised on private or public roads, open or closed to traffic, or off-road in the form of cross country or rally-raid. Competitors can use production vehicles which must be road-legal if being used on open roads or specially built competition vehicles suited to crossing specific terrain. Rallying is typically distinguished from other forms of motorsport by not running directly against other competitors over laps of

8249-506: The general classification of the Rally. The itineraries which are not used for special stages are called road sections. Speed must never constitute a factor determining the classification on these road sections. In an exclusively regularity rally, the aim is to adhere to the itinerary by following the route and arriving and departing at checkpoints at the prescribed time, with penalties applied to entrants who arrive early, late or who deviate from

8362-612: The island, both of which continued on and off until after World War II. The first Alpine event was held in 1898, the Austrian Touring Club's three-day Automobile Run through South Tyrol, which included the infamous Stelvio Pass . In Britain , the legal maximum speed of 12 mph (19 km/h) precluded road racing, but in April and May 1900, the Automobile Club of Great Britain and Ireland (the forerunner of

8475-427: The journey between the two cities. A prize of $ 10 was awarded to the motorist "approximating the most ideal schedule" between two secret points along the route and who had "the most nearly correct idea of a pleasant and sensible pleasure tour" between the two cities. Though this format of competition itself would later become known as a regularity 'rally', it wasn't at the time, however the trophy and prize were awarded at

8588-461: The make-up of a stage rally. These are the most common format of professional and commercial rallies and rally championships. The FIA organises the World Rally Championship , Regional Rally Championships; and many countries' motorsport governing bodies organise domestic rallying championships using speed competitions. The stages may vary from flat asphalt and mountain passes to rough forest tracks, from ice and snow to desert sand, each chosen to provide

8701-416: The manufacturers title. In 2009 , SEAT Sport continued with the same five drivers, with French team Oreca assisting with the operation. Gabriele Tarquini won SEAT's second in-a-row driver's championship in the WTCC and SEAT won the manufacturers title for a second consecutive year. After winning two consecutive driver's and manufacturers titles, SEAT withdrew from the WTCC at the end of the 2009 season as

8814-597: The new political situation hastened its demise. In 1953 East Africa saw the demanding Coronation Safari, which went on to become the Safari Rally and a World Championship round, to be followed in due course by the Rallye du Maroc and the Rallye Côte d'Ivoire . Australia's Redex Round Australia Trial also dates from 1953, although this remained isolated from the rest of the rallying world. Canada hosted one of

8927-534: The official competition. The event led to a period of city-to-city road races being organised in Europe and the USA, which introduced many of the features found in later rallies: individual start times with cars running against the clock rather than head to head; time controls at the entry and exit points of towns along the way; road books and route notes; and driving over long distances on ordinary, mainly gravel, roads, facing hazards such as dust, traffic, pedestrians and farm animals. From 24 September-3 October 1895,

9040-748: The original Toledo's hatchback/saloon rear. All pretense of a sporty identity was thrown out, in favour of a more upscale and alternative image. A large five hundred litre DIN boot is an interesting feature, while it can be increased to 1440 litres after folding rear seats. Under the bodywork, the SEAT Toledo uses the same underpinnings as the Volkswagen Golf Mk5 . All engines are identical to other Volkswagen Group units, with petrol engines ranging from 102 PS (75 kW; 101 bhp) to 150 PS (110 kW; 148 bhp) and diesel engines from 105 PS (77 kW; 104 bhp) to 140 PS (103 kW; 138 bhp). Updates include

9153-530: The original driver lineup. Jutta Kleinschmidt replaced Hürtgen after Round 2 for the rest of the season. The team earned their maiden podium by finishing second in the Island X-Prix and finished the season in fifth place. Abt Cupra retained Kleinschmidt and signed Nasser Al-Attiyah for the 2022 season . The team received special permission to modify the bodywork of the Spark Odyssey 21 with

9266-399: The positive side, they've praised the Toledo's big boot, rear legroom and frugality. Autocar was slightly more positive, awarding it 3 stars out of 5, calling it a "no-nonsense family car", but criticised its driver appeal and bland design. 1,019,636 SEAT Toledos have been produced during 4 generations. The total production per year of SEAT Toledo cars, manufactured in SEAT is shown in

9379-432: The promoter of the series, announced that they will not be continuing for the 2023 season citing unresolvable differences among the various stakeholders concerning the sporting and regulatory format. In September 2020, Abt Sportsline confirmed a partnership with Cupra to form Abt Cupra XE for the inaugural season of the all-electric SUV off-road racing series Extreme E with Mattias Ekström and Claudia Hürtgen as

9492-458: The qualifying session due to safety concerns over the rear suspension. Abt Cupra, as Mahindra's customer, withdrew as well. The team finished last in the Teams' Championship. Frijns left the team for the 2023–24 season . He was replaced by former Abt Audi Sport driver and 2016–17 series champion Lucas di Grassi . In April 2024, it was reported that Abt's powertrain deal with Mahindra will end at

9605-496: The rally. The first known use of the word rally to include a road competition was the 1911 Monaco Rally (later Monte Carlo Rally ). It was organised by a group of wealthy locals who formed the "Sport Automobile Vélocipédique Monégasque" and bankrolled by the "Société des Bains de Mer" (the "sea bathing company"), the operators of the famous casino who were keen to attract wealthy and adventurous motorists to their 'rallying point'. Competitors could start at various locations but with

9718-609: The rear window. This generation of the Toledo was the first SEAT automobile developed entirely under Volkswagen Group ownership, and it was built on the Golf Mk2 Volkswagen Group A2 platform with a 550-litre boot expandable to 1360 litres when folding rear seats, larger in shape and size than the Volkswagen Jetta/Vento's combined with the advantage of a tailgate. As saloon versions of small family cars were rare in Europe, it

9831-507: The route from the start to the finish of any rally into stages, not necessarily exclusively for speed tests on special stages . Each stage may have different targets or rules attached. In the FIA ecoRally Cup for example, energy performance is measured on regularity stages ran in conformity with the clock. A gimmick rally may have stages with varying difficulty of the puzzle element. Also called rally racing or (special) stage rallying . Road rallies must use special stages where speed

9944-415: The route. The entrants with the fewest penalties at the end of the rally are the winners. In trying to maintain the set average speed/s, the reliability of the vehicle, and the ability of the crew to drive, navigate and follow the itinerary is tested. Most non-regularity rally itineraries follow this base structure even where driving tests or special stages are used, however these would not then be described as

10057-486: The series achieved FIA World Cup status and drivers and manufacturers competed for the FIA ETCR – eTouring Car World Cup. Cupra partnered with EKS RX , a team founded by Ekström, as Cupra EKS. The team retained Ekström and Gené and signed Tom Blomqvist and Adrien Tambay for the season. Cupra and Tambay finished the season as the manufacturers' and drivers' champions respectively. In March 2023, Discovery Sports Events,

10170-455: The solution to the conflict inherent in the notion of driving as fast as possible on ordinary roads. The idea spread to other countries, albeit more slowly to the most demanding events. The RAC Rally had formally become an International event in 1951, but Britain's laws precluded the closure of public highways for special stages. This meant it had to rely on short manoeuvrability tests, regularity sections and night map-reading navigation to find

10283-475: The sport quickly restarted after World War I. In 1927 the Mille Miglia (Thousand Mile) was founded, run over a 1,000-mile (1,600 km) loop of highways from Brescia to Rome and back. It continued in this form until 1938. The Liège of August 1939 was the last major event before World War II. Belgium's Jean Trasenster ( Bugatti ) and France's Jean Trevoux ( Hotchkiss ) tied for first place, denying

10396-423: The sport. Other drivers started their competition careers in historic rallying. Also commonly known by its types rally-raid or baja ; cross-country rallies take place mostly off-road using similar competitive elements to road and special stage rallying competitions. When off-road, waypoints and markers are set using GPS systems, although competitors cannot use GPS for navigation. Crews must choose how best to cross

10509-506: The team and were replaced by Michel Jourdain Jr. and Tiago Monteiro . Terting and Rydell later made one-off appearances for the team, as did Nogués. Towards the end of the season SEAT debuted the TDi diesel version of the León. In 2008 , Jourdain left the team, as the team scaled down from a six-car to a five-car team. Yvan Muller won SEAT's first driver's championship in the WTCC and SEAT also won

10622-545: The term 'Touring Assembly' without using the word rally in its definition. The word ' rally' comes from the French verb ' rallier ', meaning to reunite or regroup urgently during a battle. It was in use since at least the seventeenth century and continues to mean to synergise with haste for a purpose. By the time of the invention of the motor car, it was in use as a noun to define the organised mass gathering of people, not to protest or demonstrate, but to promote or celebrate

10735-633: The terrain to the next waypoint whilst respecting the navigational instructions provided in the roadbook. The challenge is mostly navigational and endurance. The World Rally-Raid Championship was inaugurated in 2022, including the annual Dakar Rally in its calendar, with joint sanctioning by the FIA and FIM . Cross-Country Rally : Competition with a total distance between 1200 and 3000 km. Baja Cross-Country Rally : Cross-Country Rally which must be run over one day (max: 600 km) or two days (max: 1000 km). A Super Special Stage may be run on an extra day. Marathon Cross-Country Rally : Cross-Country Rally with

10848-429: The third race at Knockhill. Cupra joined Pure ETCR , a new touring car series for electric cars, in the inaugural season in 2021 alongside Hyundai and Romeo Ferraris . Cupra partnered with Zengő Motorsport and fielded Mattias Ekström , Jordi Gené , Mikel Azcona and Dániel Nagy as the drivers line-up. Cupra and Ekström finished the season as the manufacturers' and drivers' champions respectively. In 2022 ,

10961-524: The turn of the year. The Toledo initially featured the then standard range of Volkswagen Group engines for the class, from a base 1.6 L 75 PS (55 kW; 74 bhp) petrol engine up to one GT version using the 2.0 L 115 PS (85 kW; 113 bhp) engine. Later, the Toledo would see the addition of more powerful versions, including a 150 PS (110 kW; 148 bhp) 2.0 GTI 16v, and 110 PS (81 kW; 108 bhp) 1.9 TDI which, like many diesel engines built since 1996 by

11074-802: The world's longest and most gruelling rallies in the 1960s, the Shell 4000 Rally. It was the only one sanctioned by the FIA in North America. The quest for longer and tougher events saw the re-establishment of the intercontinental rallies beginning with the London–Sydney Marathon held in 1968. The rally trekked across Europe, the Middle-East and the sub-continent before boarding a ship in Bombay to arrive in Fremantle eight days later before

11187-473: Was 'won' by Prince Scipione Borghese , Luigi Barzini , and Ettore Guizzardi in an Itala . The New York–Paris of the following year, which went via Japan and Siberia , was won by George Schuster and others in a Thomas Flyer . Each event attracted only a handful of adventurous souls, but in both cases the successful drivers exhibited characteristics modern rally drivers would recognise: meticulous preparation, mechanical skill, resourcefulness, perseverance and

11300-597: Was derived from that of the first generation Audi A3. It was built on the Volkswagen Golf Mk4 platform, which meant stiff springs to support the load of the large 500 litre boot increased to 830 litres when folding rear seats. The early models were built at the Volkswagen/Audi plant in Belgium, with improved build quality (compared to the Spanish built previous generation), although the Toledo

11413-587: Was ended in May 2009, due to low sales. A concept car based on the Toledo Mk4 production model was presented at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show . This vehicle is closely related to the Škoda Rapid as a five-door liftback , both are based on an adaptation of the A05+ (PQ25) platform and are assembled in the same Škoda factory in Mladá Boleslav . The Toledo commenced sales in Spain and Portugal towards

11526-542: Was expected to finish the Liège unpenalised – when one did (1951 winner Johnny Claes in a Jaguar XK120 ) they tightened the timing to make sure it never happened again. These two events became the ones for "the men" to do. The Monte, because of its glamour, got the media coverage and the biggest entries (and in snowy years was also a genuine challenge); while the Acropolis took advantage of Greece's appalling roads to become

11639-546: Was held in 1909, in Austria, and by 1914 this was the toughest event of its kind, producing a star performance from Britain's James Radley in his Rolls-Royce Alpine Eagle . In Estonia and Latvia , The Last Race of the Empire was held in the days prior to the outbreak of World War 1 in 1914. This period was later called the July Crisis . A 706 mile car race of six stages through what is now Estonia and Latvia. The race

11752-524: Was in 1998 that the SEAT Córdoba WRC was first enrolled by the company to compete at the highest level of WRC racing. The Córdoba was based on the family saloon of the same name but was, naturally, a WRC class car. It had a 4 cylinder turbocharged petrol engine , permanent four-wheel drive , and active differentials were involved in its transmission. However, the short wheelbase and high-mounted engine (compared to its rivals) worked against

11865-488: Was in the 1977 season when the company took part with its 'SEAT 1430/124D Especial 1800' race car, and in its debut at the Monte Carlo Rally the SEAT team finished in third and fourth place with the official 1430-1800 cars being driven by Antonio Zanini and Salvador Cañellas. In recent years the consignment was burdened on the small SEAT Ibiza , a 1.6L normally aspirated front-wheel drive car with its roots in

11978-496: Was no shortage of demanding roads across remote terrain, other events sprang up. In South America, the biggest of these took the form of long distance city to city races, each around 5,000 to 6,000 miles (8,000 to 9,700 km), divided into daily legs. The first was the Gran Premio del Norte of 1940, run from Buenos Aires to Lima and back; it was won by Juan Manuel Fangio in a much modified Chevrolet coupé . This event

12091-539: Was now a crossflow 1.6 litre 100 PS (74 kW; 99 bhp) petrol engine, followed by a 1.8 litre twenty valve 125 PS (92 kW; 123 bhp) unit, while the top of the line was represented by the 2.3 litre 150 PS (110 kW; 148 bhp) VR5 engine (V5). Diesel engined versions used the 1.9 Turbocharged Direct Injection (TDI) engine, with a variable geometry turbocharger , offered initially with power outputs of 90 PS (66 kW; 89 bhp) or 110 PS (81 kW; 108 bhp). In 2001,

12204-551: Was repeated in 1947, and in 1948 an even more ambitious one was held, the Gran Premio de la América del Sur from Buenos Aires to Caracas , Venezuela —Fangio had an accident in which his co-driver was killed. Then in 1950 came the fast and dangerous Carrera Panamericana , a 1,911-mile (3,075 km) road race in stages across Mexico to celebrate the opening of the asphalt highway between the Guatemala and United States borders, which ran until 1954. All these events fell victim to

12317-723: Was revived in 1979 for the inaugural Paris-Dakar Rally . The success of the Dakar would eventually see intercontinental rallying recognised as its own discipline; the Rally Raid . Rallying became very popular in Sweden and Finland in the 1950s, thanks in part to the invention there of the specialsträcka (Swedish) or erikoiskoe (Finnish), or special stage. These were shorter sections of route, usually on minor or private roads—predominantly gravel in these countries—away from habitation and traffic, which were separately timed. These provided

12430-544: Was sometimes considered a large family car due to its overall length and boot size, despite having comparably less rear leg room, and pricing closer to small family cars. It went on sale in most of Europe in May 1991, though it did not arrive on the British market until October 1991, with the official launch at the London Motorfair . The Toledo was the first SEAT to be sold in Sweden, when it went on sale there at

12543-537: Was still presented as an economic alternative to the lower level of the D-segment , and included in the basic price a high level of equipment. One of the features most associated with the Spanish model, the tailgate was removed in favour of a more traditional four door saloon boot opening. The following year, the Toledo would be used as the base for a proper hatchback , the SEAT León Mark 1. Base model

12656-577: Was the third Baltic Automobile and Aero Club competition for the Grand Duchess Victoria Feodrovna Prize. The participants were mainly of Tsarist Russian and German Nobility. Two ultra-long distance challenges took place at this time. The Peking-Paris of 1907 was not officially a competition, but a "raid", the French term for an expedition or collective endeavour whose promoters, the newspaper "Le Matin", rather optimistically expected participants to help each other; it

12769-545: Was used, but reliability was a problem. Two teams continued to campaign petrol SEATs in the championship during 2009 with Adam Jones and series returnee Dan Eaves competitive for the Cartridge World Clyde Valley team, while Gordon Shedden drove for Clyde Valley for a couple of events before it withdrew, but he returned to drive a Leon for the Club Seat outfit. In 2010 , Tom Boardman drove

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