Under a dustsheet in a shadowy corner somewhere in Barcelona lurks Cupra’s latest new car. It’s the Spanish firm’s take on the Audi Q3 Sportback and will ramp up Cupra’s electrification push by coming with new hybrid engines.
Cupra teases all‑new hybrid SUV
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We might not know what it looks like exactly, but we do know that under the bonnet will be a range of powertrains including both mild- and plug-in hybrid engines. Cupra says the plug-in type is a new-generation PHEV technology that will allow the car to drive around 62 miles in electric mode.
How much power? No word on that yet, suggesting that this is a very new engine and one that is also likely to appear in the Audi Q3, alongside which the Cupra newcomer will be built at a Volkswagen group plant in Hungary. We do hope it will have plenty of performance sparkle, the reason after all for Cupra’s existence.
At 4.5m, the new compact model will be about the same size as the Formentor SUV, the brand’s first standalone design, but likely less about coupe-ish looks and more on the practicalities of SUV ownership. It is larger than the current Cupra Ateca, which is just a clone of the Seat equivalent, and which this must be odds on to replace.
As a rebodied Audi Q3, its cousins will also include Skoda Kodiaq and VW Tiguan, among others, likely presenting a product planning challenge to squeeze yet another group contender into such a crowded market. As for design, Cupra just says “its striking exterior will convey Cupra’s dynamism, performance and elegance”.
Production doesn’t begin until 2024 so it will staying in the shadows for a while longer yet…
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