Cupra unveils ‘provocative’ design with DarkRebel concept

MUNICH — Cupra unveiled the DarkRebel concept at a Volkswagen Group event in on the eve of the IAA Mobility auto show in Munich.

While it is likely that the design features will find their way into future Cupra models, the brand has not ruled out production of the DarkRebel.
 
“If we can dream it, we can make it,” said Wayne Griffiths, CEO of the Seat and Cupra brands.

“It is a rebel with a purpose to prove that electric cars in the future can be sporty, sexy, and emotional,” Griffiths said, adding that the design offered “maximum provocation.”

“We want to attract the next generation of drivers,” said Seat’s design director, Jorge Diez.

Diez said the brand “is not here to please everybody,” adding that Cupra’s goal is “to provoke and push emotions.”

The full-electric model was first shown as a virtual concept in April at a Cupra event in Spain by Cupra ahead of its unveiling in Germany.

DarkRebel has previously been described by Cupra as having “the athletic proportion of a sports car combined with a shooting brake architecture.”  A long hood tapers to an arrow shape in the front, while the cockpit is pushed to the rear of the car.

The concept was created with the help of the ‘Cupra Tribe,’ an online group including fans and its brand ambassadors, who contributed 270,000 suggestions via a configurator.

The concept is 4,500 mm long, 2,200 mm wide. Its height is 1,300 mm, but this increases to 2,200 mm when its doors open.

“With its wider shoulders, long bonnet and low cabin, it is a driver-focused vehicle,” Diez said, adding that the most iconic feature of the design is its headlights.

In a bid to attract next-generation drivers, the interior has several gaming-inspired features such as the console-like dashboard and the driver’s seat.