Seat’s Leon SC will debut at the Geneva Motor Show next month and it will be the first time the Spanish brand has had a three-door version available of its C-segment hatch.

The Leon SC's wheelbase is 35mm shorter than a regular Leon, and the entire car's length has been cut by 100mm.

Alejandro Mesonero-Romanos, head of Seat design, said: “We have given the three-door Leon SC a highly distinctive character – just deleting two doors would not have been enough for us.

“That is why we opted for the shorter wheelbase – although it is only 35 millimetres, the visual effect is very powerful. The result is a big difference in the expression of dynamics.”

Customers will be able to choose from S, SE and FR trims. There will also be a 200bhp Cupra version. The engine line-up mirrors the five-door with 1.2-litre, 1.4-litre and 1.8-litre TSI petrol engines, developing between 104 and 178bhp and a 1.6-litre TDi diesel which will return 74.3mpg and 99g/km of CO2 output, as well as a 2.0 TDi returning 68.9and with an output of 106g/km of CO2.

Five- or six-speed manual gearboxes are standard depending on the engine choice, with six- or seven-speed twin-clutch automatics as an optional extra.

Prices are yet to be confirmed but expected to start below £15,000 when the Leon SC goes on sale in the UK in June. A Leon ST estate model will follow in December.

Read AM's review of the Seat Leon five-door.