► Cupra finally unveils the real DarkRebel
► It’s only been a digital concept until now
► Designed with the help of 270,000 fans
This is the new Cupra DarkRebel concept. It was unveiled at the 2023 IAA Munich motor show – and it’s a pure-electric, two-seat shooting brake sports car that showcases the latest evolution of the Spanish brand’s design language.
Until the show, the DarkRebel existed only in the digital world. It was born in Cupra’s Metaverse platform, after 270,000 Cupra fans provided suggestions on how the car should look in an online poll. The company calls these contributors the ‘Cupra Tribe.’
Cupra’s designers morphed the mob’s suggestions into a digital car for the metaverse before handing the plans off to its engineers to create this physical concept for the IAA show. The resemblance is uncanny – especially when you stand in front of it (which we have).
Will the Cupra DarkRebel go into production?
If Cupra’s CEO Wayne Griffiths gets his way, most certainly. He told us: ‘if you know us at Cupra, normally when we do concept cars and show cars, we normally end up doing them [for real]. The Tavascan was a dream car came true – and it was very close to the concept car. The Formentor was spot on against the concept car. The Raval is very close to the Urban Rebel. So, we normally deliver.’
Griffiths sees the DarkRebel as Cupra’s natural halo car. It’s a sexy project to crown the line-up and, hopefully, generate a little more desirability for his cars. Desirability is everything for him, too – he’s even willing to sacrifice some profitability to achieve it.
‘Cupra’s not about volume or even about price or whatever. It’s about desirability for me. Where there’s no limits of where we push Cupra to is on the desirability. And that’s what we’re trying to do with the DarkRebels. We’re not there to get the highest price or the highest volume – we’re not into volume or prices or whatever. We’re into desirability.’
What’s it powered by?
Cupra hasn’t told us yet, but the brand is known for pushing the boundaries of Volkswagen’s MEB platform. Compare the Born to the ID.3 or the Tavascan to the ID.5. They’re all based on the same architecture, but the Cupra cars tend to be more visually striking and technologically dynamic.
If it is based on MEB, it’ll probably use Volkswagen’s 295bhp dual-motor GTX powertrain. However, if Cupra wants to recreate a more traditional sports car driving experience (meaning: lively handling and rear-wheel drive), it could use the 282bhp single-motor setup destined for the Volkswagen ID.7.
Another option is that Cupra pinches the PPE platform destined for use under the upcoming Audi A6 e-tron. The new electric saloon will arrive in 2024 – and CAR magazine understands that a bonkers RS6 e-Tron variant is on the way, boasting more than 600bhp and a 100kWh battery pack. You can call us excessive, but if we were going to build a fancy electric sports car, we’d take that as our starting point.
Fair enough. Tell us a bit more about the Cupra DarkRebel’s design
The DarkRebel is part shooting brake, part sports car and – dare we say it – part Toyota Supra. Take another look at the front and rear shots and tell us you disagree. Cupra’s plan was to challenge the norms of car design and we think it’s achieved that.
Nothing about the DarkRebel is conventional. The cab has been pushed to the rear of the car like an old-school GT car, even though the firm didn’t need to make space for a whacking great V12 under that long bonnet. The front and rear overhangs are tiny and the whole car is peppered with the same sort of aggressive aero you’d normally find on 800bhp supercars.
For all its madness, though, the DarkRebel still retains aspects of Cupra’s sensible, roadgoing design language. Like the Tavascan, (and soon the rest of the Cupra range), it has a triple-triangle headlight signature – only here, the lights perforate through the car’s metal body. That long bonnet also has central spine, which is a nod the same feature running through the production-spec Tavascan’s cabin.
What’s the DarkRebel’s interior like?
As wild as the exterior. Cupra’s focus for the cabin was light. It has an unusually asymmetrical design and a veritable orgy of ambient lamps. There’s a light-up steering wheel, LED door cards and a glowing crystal gear selector. The colours change depending on the driving mode – and each setting has its own accompanying sound signature to fill the silence.
There’s loads of tech, too. The climate controls are particularly clever. Cupra mounted a thermal camera in the car’s headlining, pointed at the occupants. It monitors the temperature of the cabin and automatically adjusts the air conditioning to suit – and the ambient lights around the air outlets under the windscreen glow either red or blue depending on whether the blower is supplying hot or cold air.
The DarkRebel’s steering wheel takes inspiration from the worlds of gaming and racing. It’s an upside-down yoke shape, (looking a bit like an inverted version of the wheel you’ll find in the Batmobile), while its buttons have a similar layout to those on a PlayStation controller.
Cupra also has one eye on its environmental responsibilities. So, the DarkRebel’s trims are made from 90% biodegradable bamboo, which it says helps to boost ‘the emotions and experiences of the occupants.’ Whatever that means.
Cupra trialled other unusual manufacturing methods on the concept, such as 3D metal printing for the spindly centre console and 3D-knitted fabric for the headrests. The company’s head of design, Jorge Diez, also tells us that Cupra is planning to use these 3D printing methods in its upcoming customer cars.
He said: ‘the plan is push [3D printing] to production. I would say that always we try to see materials from different fields from automotive fields. We are not premium, we don’t want to be premium, so we will never use the chrome, the typical leather, the wood. So we try to get away from that [with] the 3D printing technology. We are thinking to bring in production job.’
Anything else worth mentioning?
In addition to providing design inspiration, the public poll provided Cupra with a handy gauge to judge its market reach. Most of the styling suggestions came from Spain and Germany, which was to be expected. Those countries are known strongholds for the brand.
However, Mexico and Turkey also made the top 10, which is important because they’re two of the biggest regions Cupra wants to expand into. The company revealed that 74% of votes were cast from mobile devices, too, suggesting Cupra is doing a good job of courting a more youthful audience.
Luke Wilkinson is a Senior Staff Writer for the Bauer Automotive Hub. He spends his time writing news, reviews and features for CAR magazine and its sister site Parkers.co.uk