Following Volkswagen’s revelation of the production version of its Scirocco, Seat had revealed its Bocanegra sports coupe to the crowds at the Geneva Motor Show today.

The prototype marks the start of a new Seat product initiative stretching over the next few years which will include the launch of the new-generation Ibiza as well as a new upper-medium family saloon, due to make its public debut in 2009.

The Bocanegra (Black Mouth) is powered by a 1.4-litre TSI twin-charger (turbocharged and supercharged) petrol engine linked to a seven-speed DSG automatic/sequential manual gearbox.

The car is the work of Seat design director Luc Donckerwolke, and he's drawn inspiration for the car from one of the few original designs in Seat's pre-VW history – the 1200S Bocanegra coupe that was built from 1974-1980.

Donckerwolke said: "When I started working on the Ibiza two-and-a-half years ago I came across the original Ibiza of 1984 – but then I came across the Bocanegra, a car that had the same clean design of the Ibiza, but a car that nobody knows. “The Bocanegra is not the Ibiza, it is part of the communication process that leads to the Ibiza. It has the same DNA, but here you see a more extrovert version. If this is Superman, the Ibiza will be Clark Kent!”

The Bocanegra's influence will continue in other future Seats especially a new coupe that will become a new flagship for the brand – an exciting prospect for Donckerwolke, whose CV includes the Lamborghini Murcielago and Gallardo supercars.

“I think a coupe fits the brand,” he said. He said he would be “very tempted” to use the Bocanegra name on this car.

Donckerwolke is also working on a new large saloon for Seat – a successor to the Toledo. This will be a much more up-market car, based on the Audi A4 platform. Donckerwolke said this would be less radical and less sharp than the Bocanegra. Instead it will be “more elegant and refined”.

He said: “I don't like to make clones of cars – so you won't see the same designs being scaled up or down. Every model will have its own identity.”