Seat announced on Wednesday that Cupra will now be a standalone performance sub-brand. The marque plans to brand all its future faster vehicles as Cupras, which will compete with the likes of DS by Citroen, Abarth from Fiat, Nissan’s Nismo and more.
Cupra said in a statement, ‘Today, Seat officially confirms the launch of the new Cupra brand and presents its new logo, giving a first glimpse of what Cupra will become. Cupra has always been the sportiest expression of Seat. Now the time has come for it to gain its own soul, its own DNA, its own identity by becoming a new entity. All new Cupra vehicles will feature the new Cupra logo.’ For now, the video release has only showcased the brand’s copper-colored logo, it is expected to have a full release on 22nd February in Barcelona.
The first car under the Cupra brand name, the Alteca SUV, will be released at the 2018 Geneva International Motor Show in March. Seat’s sales have been growing exponentially, even though the brand has been selling redesigned versions of old vehicles from other group brands. In 2017, 468,400 units were sold, highlighting a rise of 14.6 percent compared to last year. This made Seat the top selling brand in the Volkswagen Group of companies, with Skoda placed second with 6.6 percent increase in 2017.
Dr. Matthias Rabe, head of research and development, surrendering to the increase in demand for hybrid/electric cars, admitted that a Cupra hybrid could be seen in the near future.
“Cupra and electrification is not a contradiction,” he commented. “I could see a Cupra as an electrified car – and we have something in mind.”
Judging from past models like the Leon Cupra hatchback, which managed to set the front-wheel drive lap record at the Nürburgring in 2014, it is only a matter of time until customers see high performance vehicles rolling out of Seat factories.