Cupra’s new UrbanRebel concept looks like some kind of crazed hot hatch destined for an awesome new race series. But don’t be fooled by the motorsport wing and wheels. Beneath the auto show razzmatazz is the small EV Cupra will bring to market in 2025. Revealed ahead of a public appearance at this month’s Munich Motor Show, the UrbanRebel gives us our first look at one of a suite of small EVs built around the VW Group’s shortest MEB electric platform. It will be joined by other small EVs from VW Group brands using the same architecture by the second half of this decade.
A huge cow-catcher bumper that wouldn’t look out of place on a wild west train dominates the front view, while the pronounced crease running from the front fenders to the base of the C-pillar is an even more dramatic interpretation of the design language we saw in 2019’s Cupra Tavascan SUV concept.
At the rear, the giant wing commands your attention, and not only because of its sheer size. The rear light units cleverly extend from the Cupra logo mounted in the center of the bodywork below the rear window, than carry on up the wing uprights. Cupra says the concept’s unspecified electric powertrain produces a constant 335 hp, but has the ability to kick out as much as 429 hp for limited periods. That’s enough for a zero to 62mph time of 3.2 seconds.
Come 2025 though, the production version will make less than half that power, and take more than twice as long to get to 60mph, at least in standard trim. And while the concept has just three doors to enhance the sporty look, it’s almost certain that the near-universal demand for five-doors, even in small cars, means the real thing will have back doors, too.
Volkswagen is targeting a starting price of around € 20,000 for its smallest EVs, possibly by using cheaper lithium phosphate batteries. More than 500,000 EVs from various VW brands will be built at the Seat-Cupra factory in Martorelli, near Barcelona in Spain. One thing not clear is where this all leaves Seat. VW’s decision to unveil the UrbanRebel as a Cupra leaves us wondering again if it may drop the Seat brand altogether, using Skoda to plug the gap.
