zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Tech
/
The Cupra UrbanRebel Concept Is The Electric Hot Hatch The World Needs Right Now
The Cupra UrbanRebel Concept Is The Electric Hot Hatch The World Needs Right Now-July 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:10:27

Image for article titled The Cupra UrbanRebel Concept Is The Electric Hot Hatch The World Needs Right Now

It has been a hot minute since we’ve seen anything quite this wild from a concept. Mini has been bolting big wings and wild aero to compact boy-racer hot hatches for a while, and the current JCW GP is probably about as close as you can buy right now to something this extreme. Remember when it seemed like the way to get attention in the automotive space was to build a compact sedan or hatch with a ton of power and a big wing?

Cupra is seemingly looking back in time at stuff like Subaru’s WRX STI before it got boring, and Mitsubishi’s Evo before it got dead, and kicking things up a notch. The Cupra UrbanRebel concept looks pretty damn close to a modern WRC car, but with lower suspension and bigger wheels. That’s a pretty damn great way to attract my attention. Even though this is just a concept, Cupra says it will preview a future model (probably a less bonkers city car) the company is readying for 2025.

“The CUPRA UrbanRebel Concept is a radical interpretation of the company’s urban electric car, due to be launched in 2025. This racing concept gives an idea of the design language of the future street-car and will inspire its creation” said Wayne Griffiths, CEO of CUPRA. “The urban electric car is a key strategic project not only for our company, but also for the Volkswagen Group, as our aim is to produce more than 500,000 urban electric cars per year in Martorell for different Group brands. The urban electric car will democratize and make accessible electromobility to the masses.”

With Volkswagen set to launch a compact ID.2 electric hatch in the near future, it would stand to reason that whatever Cupra has on the horizon will share that same ‘MEB Short’ architecture with unique bodywork to match this look. If one or both of them are three-door hatchbacks like this, I’ll jump up and down with joy. The Cupra will likely be a performance-oriented hot hatch from the outset, but if VW offers a GTX version, I might have to line up to order one.

Set to unveil to the public at the IAA show in Munich, the UrbanRebel is nothing more than a concept at the moment with an eye toward hints at the future. The specs are meaningless, but Cupra says the car will sport a peak of 430 horsepower-ish electric propulsion and sprint from 0-60 in 3.1 seconds. No mention is made of how that power is delivered, but I’d guess a dual-motor setup, maybe two of the 201-horsepower motor units found in the ID.4 GTX with unique tuning.

Whatever it is — big wing, aero covers for the wheels, and wideboi fenders — it rips. Even if the wacko quotient is reduced a bit, and even though I know Cupra is never going to sell anything here in the U.S. market, I still hope the UrbanRebel makes it to production. The world used to produce truly wild shit, like the Renault Clio V6, and it is about damn time the hot hatch world got some fresh blood.

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Tech
Volkswagen EVs Can Now Power Your House For Two Days (Update)
Volkswagen EVs Can Now Power Your House For Two Days (Update)
Experts have said that one of the ways to speed up EV adoption is for them to support . The ability for owners to power their house off their car or from the grid is vital. Just nine EVs on the market currently support bidirectional charging, but now VW...
Jul 12, 2025
Costco Will Sell The Chevy Blazer EV At A Discount To Go With Your Rotisserie Chicken
Costco Will Sell The Chevy Blazer EV At A Discount To Go With Your Rotisserie Chicken
knows that you keep coming back for the and Kirkland brand, but you can now also buy a cheaper at your local warehouse. Chevy notified its dealers that members are eligible for a $1,000 rebate on the through January 2, according to . The discount is part of ,...
Jul 12, 2025
GM Says It's Dropping Apple CarPlay And Android Auto Because They're Unsafe (Update)
GM Says It's Dropping Apple CarPlay And Android Auto Because They're Unsafe (Update)
GM is still dealing with the fallout of its decision to drop Apple CarPlay and Android Auto in favor of developing its own in-house system. In the last eight months, the company has had to deal with while still maintaining its in-house system will be “.” Since neither of...
Jul 12, 2025
Danish Investors Dump Tesla Shares After Elon Musk Calls Strikes In Sweden 'Insane'
Danish Investors Dump Tesla Shares After Elon Musk Calls Strikes In Sweden 'Insane'
Danish pension fund PensionDanmark is dumping all of its stock and putting the U.S. EV maker on its exclusion list of the companies it chooses to invest in – or not. The fund is selling all of its shares due to Elon Musk’s refusal to enter into labor agreements...
Jul 12, 2025
Truck Fans Would Rather Wait For A Toyota Tacoma EV Than Buy A F-150 Lightning Or Cybertruck
Truck Fans Would Rather Wait For A Toyota Tacoma EV Than Buy A F-150 Lightning Or Cybertruck
fans are already cooling on despite more options on the market and news of upcoming models from the likes of Chevy and Ram. The and have yet to be released, while the has recently joined the and for sale in the U.S. And, yet, all of these current and...
Jul 12, 2025
Biden’s First EV Charging Station Goes Online After $7.5 Billion In American EV Investments
Biden’s First EV Charging Station Goes Online After $7.5 Billion In American EV Investments
Despite in investments for the development of in the , not a single charging station had gone live thanks to — until now. The first EV charger paid for by Biden’s Bipartisan deal has come online in Ohio, according to , which marks the operational start of what the...
Jul 12, 2025
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved