Unveiled at the Munich auto show in September, the Cupra UrbanRebel concept is designed to give the world a hint of what an EV smaller than the Born could look like. But with its big wings and fancy paint job, you could be forgiven for thinking it was just for display rather than a fully functional car. Cupra’s vice president of research and development, Dr. Werner Tietz, wanted to prove that the concept is more than just a static display, so he donned his helmet and put on his racing gloves to take the concept car for a spin.
That’s enough, he points out, to get the
car to 100 km/h in just 3.2 seconds. It will be pretty swift at higher
speed, too, because that aero package isn’t just for looks. It’s been designed
to minimize drag thanks to big, intelligently designed air inlets and outlets,
while also providing plenty of grip.
Ultimately, even though this concept car
works, we still anticipate the production vehicle to be much less extreme. By
the time it launches, it’s expected to make less than half as much power as
this concept. Based on the same MEB platform as the Born, the UrbanRebel is
shorter and will be joined by similarly-sized models from VW and Skoda. Expect
Cupra’s version, though, to be the most exciting, as well as most expensive, as
recent reports suggest that it will cost around € 5,000 more than its siblings
from other brands when it comes out around 2025.
