rFactor 2 continues its British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) content drive as the series’ Cupra León has joined the sim, it was announced today (22nd of May 2023). The new car also arrives alongside liveries for the entirety of the 2023 grid, coming as a free update.
The Cupra is the final car from the 2021-23 seasons to come to rFactor 2, three months after the penultimate BTCC protagonist – the FK8 Honda Civic Type R – was released.
The Spanish company is no stranger to the BTCC having claimed the manufacturers’ title in 2006 in the guise of Cupra’s parent brand Seat, falling just shy of claiming the drivers’ crown.
The car uses the series’ two-litre turbocharged TOCA/M-Sport spec engine, so should share similar rFactor 2 sounds as the Toyota Corolla GR Sport, Infiniti Q50 and Vauxhall Astra (although the Toyotas use a purpose-built Toyota engine in 2023).
Ironically, Cupra aims to exclusively sell electric cars by 2030, but the León campaigned in the BTCC is currently available in showrooms in petrol or hybrid petrol configurations. And thanks to a shared chassis platform with the Volkswagen Golf, it’s a highly-rated road car.
This hasn’t translated into BTCC success on-track, however, as the car recorded a solitary podium finish in 2021-22 in the hands of Bobby Thompson (who also claimed the Jack Sears Trophy that year).
Cupra’s BTCC results
The Cupra León was introduced to the championship in 2021 by Tony Gilham’s Team HARD. Racing outfit, who designed and built the racecar version for drivers Jack Mitchell, Jack Goff, Glynn Geddie and Árón Taylor-Smith, whose liveries appear in-game.
Likewise, 2022 liveries for the cars of Tom Oliphant, Carl Boardley, Will Powell and Taylor-Smith will also appear alongside the 2021-23 paint schemes of Nicolas Hamilton (brother of seven-time Formula 1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton), who has driven the Cupra for three straight seasons.
2023 has already proven to be a brighter campaign for the Cupras, with Thompson securing the car’s best-ever result: second place at Brands Hatch. Hamilton also secured a career-best sixth position at a wet Donington Park, cheered on trackside by his brother.
Six Cupra drivers are represented on the 2023 grid; with Dexter Patterson, Bobby Thompson, Jack Butel, Dan Lloyd, Nicolas Hamilton, and Jade Edwards all driving the Spanish car. Their updated liveries now also appear in-game.
The Cupra León is available to buy now from rFactor 2’s storefront, priced at €4.99/£4.33.
2023 BTCC liveries
As well as the Cupra, an update has been released for all of rFactor 2’s BTCC cars, adding the 2023 liveries. This update is free-of-charge for those who already own BTCC car content and is available to download now.
rFactor 2 BTCC pack prices
- Cupra León BTCC – €4.99/£4.33
- BTCC Car Pack – €19.99/£17.35
- BTCC Pack – €29.99/£26.02
rFactor 2 hotfix changelog
BRABHAM BT44 V2.64
- Added PBR materials
- Fixed drivers toes sticking out of car
BMW 330I M SPORT BTCC V1.61
- Added 2023 teams
- Added AI antiroll
CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R GTE V3.13
- Fix for negative VolumeFract values resulting in fuel regeneration when off-throttle
HYUNDAI I30 FASTBACK N PERFORMANCE BTCC V1.61
- Added 2023 teams
- Added AI antiroll
HONDA CIVIC TYPE R BTCC V1.61
- Added 2023 teams
- Added AI antiroll
FORD FOCUS ST BTCC V1.61
- Added 2023 teams
- Added AI antiroll
INFINITI Q50 V37 BTCC V1.61
- Added AI antiroll
TOYOTA COROLLA GR SPORT BTCC V1.61
- Added 2023 teams
- Added AI antiroll
VAUXHALL ASTRA BTCC V1.61
- Added 2023 teams
- Added AI antiroll
VANWALL VANDERVELL LMH V1.31
- Added Michelin tires
- Updated fuel consumption
- Modified gear ratios to be the same as the homologated ones
Are you looking forward to driving the Cupra León in rFactor 2? Let us know in the comments below.
