 | |
 Cupra Garage inMartorell, Spain | |
| Product type | Cars |
|---|---|
| Owner | Volkswagen Group |
| Produced by | SEAT S.A. |
| Country | Spain |
| Introduced | 1996; 29 years ago (1996) (as part ofSEAT) 2018; 7 years ago (2018) (as a standalone brand) |
| Related brands | SEAT |
| Markets | Europe, Middle East, Africa, Latin America, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand |
| Ambassador | Markus Haupt (Cupra brand CEO)[1] |
| Website | cupraofficial |
Cupra (/ˈkuːprə/;[2] stylised inall caps) is a car brand owned by The Volkswagen Group a German manufacturer and produced bySEAT, a Spanish car manufacturer part ofVolkswagen Group, headquartered inMartorell nearBarcelona.
Originating from SEAT'smotorsport divisionCupra Racing, the Cupra brand was introduced as a standalone brand in January 2018, after being used as a performance sub-brand of SEAT since 1996. While initial Cupra models are based on SEAT vehicles, in September 2020 Cupra introduced the first Cupra-only vehicle, theCupra Formentor. In 2021, the brand introduced its first electric car called theCupra Born.
Cupra originated from Cupra Racing (previously SEAT Sport), the high-performance motorsport subsidiary of SEAT. The "Cupra" name, short for "Cup Racing"[3] was first used in 1996 by the SEAT Ibiza GTI 2.0 16V Cupra Sport, which was astreet legal version of theIbiza Mk2kit car used in the competition and created as a special edition to celebrate SEAT's victory in the 1996FIA 2-Litre World Rally Cup (a subdivision of theWorld Rally Championship at that time).[4][5] It was followed by the SEAT Ibiza Cupra 1.8 20V in 1999, and the more powerful Ibiza Cupra R in 2000.[6]
Over the following two decades, SEAT introduced a succession ofhot hatchbacks marketed with the Cupra badge, such as theSEAT León Cupra 1.8 20V in 1999, and in the following year the SEAT Leon Cupra 4, which is the first AWD Cupra and the only six-cylinder Cupra.[7] Since then, every SEAT León generation has been supplemented with a Cupra-badged hot hatch version.[6]
In 2017, then SEAT CEOLuca de Meo hinted at the possibility of Cupra becoming a standalone brand. At that point, Cupra was only available as the performance version of the León.[8] On 31 January 2018, SEAT confirmed that it is launching Cupra as a standalone brand,[9] followed by an announcement event on 22 February 2018,[10] in which prototypes of forthcoming Cupra models such as theCupra Ateca were shown.[11] SEAT's head of sales and marketing Wayne Griffiths planned to double Cupra sales within the following four to five years, helping SEAT achieve sustainable profitability. Cupra cars were to be sold in some SEAT dealerships in Europe, with dedicated floor space.[12]
The Cupra logo of two intersecting triangles was designed byAlejandro Mesonero-Romanos. According to Mesonero-Romanos, the philosophy of the triangular logo is that a triangle is a dynamic shape, has a stable base, and points in a clear direction.[13]
The first model from the standalone Cupra brand was theCupra Ateca, introduced in October 2018.[14] TheCupra León joined the line-up in February 2020, following the introduction of the SEAT León Mk4.[15] In March 2020, Cupra introduced theFormentor after being previewed as a near-productionconcept vehicle at theGeneva International Motor Show in November 2019. It is the first Cupra product that is not shared with SEAT.[16]
In February 2021, theCupra Born was introduced as Cupra's firstelectric car. The concept version was called SEAT el-Born, but the Born became a Cupra-only model while remaining closely related to theVolkswagen ID.3.[17] The second electric car from Cupra is theTavascan, launched in April 2023, which was preceded by the Tavascan concept car shown at the2019 Frankfurt Motor Show. It is the first Cupra model produced outside Europe, made byVolkswagen Anhui in China.[18]
In March 2024, Cupra announced its intention to enter the U.S. market "by the end of the decade". The planned models to be sold are the next-generation electric Formentor, and an unnamed larger electric vehicle to be produced in Mexico.[19]
| Body style | Model | Current generation | Vehicle description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Image | Name(s) | Introduction (cal. year) | Update (facelift) | ||
| Hatchback |  | Born | 2021 | - | Battery electricC-segment hatchback based on theVolkswagen ID.3. Built on a dedicated electric vehicle platform,MEB. |
 | León | 2020 | 2024 | Performance version of theSEAT León. | |
| Estate |  | León Sportstourer | 2020 | 2024 | Performance version of the SEAT León Sportstourer/Estate. |
| Crossover SUV |  | Ateca | 2018 | 2020 | Performance version of theSEAT Ateca. |
 | Formentor | 2020 | 2024 | C-segment SUV based on the León. First standalone model for Cupra. | |
 | Tavascan | 2023 | - | Battery electric C-segment coupe SUV built on a dedicated electric vehicle platform,MEB. | |
 | Terramar | 2024 | - | C-segment SUV. | |
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De Antonio Yachts D28 Formentor is ayacht introduced in July 2021 as a collaborative project betweenBarcelona-based shipbuilder De Antonio Yachts and Cupra's Color & Trim division. Its design was said to be inspired by theCupra Formentor VZ5.[21][22]
| Year | Models | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ateca | León | Formentor | Born | ||
| 2020[23] | N/A | N/A | 11,041 | - | N/A |
| 2021[24] | 4,505 | 13,670 | 58,863 | 4,801 | 81,839 |
| 2022[24] | 8,841 | 20,070 | 105,568 | 36,153 | 170,632 |
| 2023[25] | 14,228 | 62,103 | 124,670 | 45,748 | 246,749 |
CUPRA is pronounced 'koo-pruh', not 'cup-ra'.
Cupra, pronounced coop-rah, is actually a compression of Cup Racing
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