Seat introduced the el-Born concept at
the Geneva Motor Show and now the company has apparently revealed the
production model. In a clip posted by Seat Sweden, the el-Born makes a brief
appearance on an infotainment system. While it’s partially obscured, the model
is quite a bit different than the concept.
As you can see, the concept’s
futuristic headlights have been replaced by more conventional units that
feature integrated LED daytime running lights. The grille remains pretty
faithful to the concept, but the front fascia is slightly different as it
features larger air intakes.
The rest of the design largely carries
over, but we can see revised side skirts and different wheels. There’s also a
pronounced shoulder line and a familiar greenhouse. The el-Born closely
resembles the Volkswagen ID.3 and this isn’t a coincidence as both models ride
on the MEB platform and are closely related.
When the concept was introduced, Seat
said the model had a 62 kWh battery pack which powered an electric motor that
developed up to 201 hp. This enabled the car to accelerate
from 0-100 km/h in 7.5 seconds and travel up to 420 km on a single charge in the WLTP cycle.
It remains unclear if additional
powertrains will be available, but it’s possible as the ID.3 will have 45, 58
and 77 kWh battery packs. The smallest will allow the model to travel up to 330 km, while the largest will increase the range to 550
km. Even if the el-Born doesn’t come with a larger battery, owners might not
have to worry as the company said the battery could be given an 80% charge in
just 47 minutes using a 100 kW DC fast charger.
Of course, we’ll find out details soon
enough as the production el-Born is set to debut next year.
