New Cupra UrbanRebel concept previews 2025 urban EV
Race car concept will reach production in four years as an electric hatch using new MEB Entry platform
Cupra has unveiled the UrbanRebel Concept, a bold racing-inspired machine that previews the firms forthcoming entry-level electric crossover due in 2025.
The new machine has been unveiled by the Spanish firm ahead of the Munich motor show, where it will be shown in public for the first time. It is the first glimpse of a machine built for the Volkswagen Group's crucial new MEB Entry platform that will underpin a range of small cars.
Cupra boss Wayne Griffiths said the UrbanRevel is "a radical interpretation of the company's urban electric car" that will launch in 2025. The firm chose to showcase it as a motorsport concept to highlight that "racing is at the core of Cupra's DNA".
Griffiths added that the machine "gives an idea of the design language of the future street-car and will inspire its creation."
The production version of the UrbanRacer will join the Volkswagen ID2 and models from Skoda and Audi that will be built on the VW Group's MEB Entry platform for affordable entry level cars. The firm is aiming for the most basic versions of those cars to be priced from £17,000.
It is significant that Seat-Cupra is the firm VW brand to preview a car built on the platform, given the VW Group's aim to build MEB Entry models at the brand's Martorell plant in Spain. The VW Group is currently negotiating with the Spanish government to secure backing for the project.
Griffiths added: "The urban electric car is a key strategic project not only for our company, but also for the Volkswagen Group, as our aim is to produce more than 500,000 urban electric cars per year in Martorell for different Group brands."
Cupra says that the UrbanRebel showcases a shift towards a more progressive design language for the brand, although it retains features seen on the Tavascan SUV and Born electric hatch. Cupra design boss Jorge Diez said that the exterior was intended to "inject a gamification look" to the firm's design language.
Cupra's 'shark nose' front has been created out of a negative surface, and is pared with new triangular headlights. The window design is intended to invoke the visual effect of a helmet in a similar fashion to the Tavascan.
The concept features a three-door bodyshell, with sharp styling lines that run the length of the car. The rear features a large rear wing to reflect the concept's motorsport links, which wraps into a full length rear light bar broken only by the Cupra logo. There is also a distinctive rear diffuser design.
The UrbanRebel is 4080mm long, 1795mm wide and 1444mm high, making it similar in size to the petrol-engined Seat Arona crossover.
While Cupra has not given full details of the electric powertrain layout, is says the machine offers 335bhp of continuous power, with a peak output of 429bhp in certain situations. It has a claimed 0-62mph time of 3.2 seconds.
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