It may not have been in the races themselves, but CUPRA has been breaking record after record since its inception.
The Barcelona-born brand is a hot newcomer in the automotive industry, having come to life only five years ago in 2018. Since its launch, CUPRA has sold over 300,000 cars making it the fastest-growing brand in Europe, and this year, the car creators achieved record sales in Q1 with over 46,500 vehicles sold — now that’s some serious growth.
Not one to shy away from the spotlight (which it quite frankly deserves), CUPRA made sure to leave its powerful mark on the Formula-E(lectric) race events in Berlin last weekend, with surprise after surprise lined up for the curious guests. Since 2011, the Formula-E races have been popping up all over the world, but this Berlin iteration was particularly important for CUPRA, whose largest consumer base lies in Germany.
The brand’s ‘Exponential Impulse’ event saw CUPRA do more than debut its commercial with fellow Barcelonian Rosalía and have a hologram of Willow Smith singing (although these moments were pretty cool).
CUPRA unveiled the next stage of its evolution with the big reveal of its first all-electric SUV coupe, the CUPRA Tavascan. The second electric model after the CUPRA Born, the car is not a response to change but a vehicle that creates it. Athletic proportions combined with a striking design language, matrix LEDs, and sport dynamic technology not only put this car at the forefront of a greener future but make sure the driving experience is tailored down to a T for the person behind the wheel.
If announcing a new car wasn’t enough, CEO Wayne Griffiths also broke the news about the CUPRA DarkRebel — sounds like something from Batman, right? Well, you’re not far off there, as the virtual sports car quite literally breaks all boundaries when it comes to design and materiality. Yes, it may live in a parallel, digital universe, but the car is designed for a futuristic city, unconstrained by physical limits. By expanding car construction into virtual reality, CUPRA has turned the experience in something intangible, with its Hyper Configurator allowing CUPRA Tribe members to use their own imagination and creativity to design the car itself.
Director of Design Jorge Diez said, “We’re inviting everyone to create their own version of the DarkRebel, which will develop the future of our sports cars and influence the final design of the car in a few years.” So if you’ve ever wanted to dabble in automotive design, now is your chance.
All good things come in three, as they say, so naturally, CUPRA had one final surprise in the form of the Exponential Experience and the Metahype. Yes, CUPRA has entered the Metaverse (in collaboration with Primavera Sound!). The ever-expanding virtual island allows brands, creators, and communities to engage amongst one another in five unique spaces – the Plaza, Racing, Metahype City Garage, Hub, and Next. One of our favorites was the racing district, where gamified racing lets you test your driving skills and face challenges in your very own digital CUPRA.
“The CUPRA Exponential Experience brings to life something most drivers wouldn’t typically experience: the incredible feeling of driving an electric racing car. A unique racing concept merging the virtual and physical worlds — allowing anyone to feel racing in a different way,” said Xavi Serra, Head of CUPRA Racing. Through a VR headset, you really can whizz your CUPRA from Barcelon to Berlin in a matter of minutes.
It’s safe to say that CUPRA kicked off the Formula-E races and celebrations with a pretty green bang and one that’s only going to get greener as time passes.
Find out more about the CUPRA Tavascan and everything else at cupraofficial.com
