THE first thing anyone asks about a new electric car these days is, “How far does it go?”
Rather than, “How fast does it go?”
Which does make the future of motoring sound disappointingly boring.
Cupra won’t say how far the UrbanRebel Racing concept will go on a single charge. Or indeed how quickly it can recharge.
But that’s all right with me because the answer to the second question is: Very.
This thing is hilariously fast and playful, on dirt or tarmac.
And you’ll want to keep on throwing it at every apex . . . until the battery runs out.
As the first journalist in the world to get behind the wheel of UrbanRebel at the Montmelo rallycross circuit in Spain, I can confirm there is absolutely nothing boring about this EV.
It forces you to re-evaluate your sensible perception of e-mobility.
I could hardly hear a word pro driver Jordi Gené was trying to tell me as he slammed this pocket e-rocket through the infield’s twisty turns.
“It’s the gearbox! It’s right behind your head!” he yelled.
A far cry from the serenely silent glide and comfort of a sensible Cupra Born.
So it looks and sounds like a thoroughbred race car — albeit from the inside. From the outside it just sounds a bit odd.
More flexible with its on-demand torque deployment and brake regeneration than an internal combustion-engined racer, it handles like a fat go-kart on amphetamines.
But at 1,350kg, she’s about 350kg heavier than she would be if she had petrol running through her veins.
“She’s much heavier than she looks” Jordi yells, as I find out how much pressure is needed on the brake pedal to avoid a whoopsie on my out lap.
But it’s only under physical braking that you ever feel the weight that physics can’t deny — so my tip is just dab them for positioning, flick out the tail and get drifting.
Capable of sprinting from 0-62mph when the lights go green in just 3.2seconds, this dual-motor 4WD racer delivers 335hp of continuous power with a boost option of 430hp.
But it sure feels like more with its lightning linear acceleration and bone-shaking ride.
This riotous little yob does not like standing still.
So much so that they didn’t bother with a “park” button. Just D for “drive” and N for “neutral”.
Everything else is typical rally car with the obligatory roll cage, trick stick (hydraulic handbrake), fire extinguisher, and a big red emergency stop button.
Just don’t expect these as options on the roadgoing Cupra UrbanRebel — the sensible evolution of this ballistic experiment that’s scheduled for release in 2025. That will be a very different car.
It will have five doors for starters and feature all sorts of 3D-knitted bio-materials and recycled polymers in a futuristically spacious cabin.
It will also be front-wheel drive and 235hp, with a range of around 270 miles.
Cupra will also make small EVs for Volkswagen and Skoda in Spain, priced between £20k-£25k.
But we’re told UrbanRebel will be the most powerful, priciest and prettiest . . . as well as being the first to go on sale.
It’s fair to say Cupra, once the sporty sub-division of Seat, is the new darling of the VW Group and is being pushed as a fresh, disruptive global brand.
It won’t be long before Cupra sales eclipse Seat’s own.
We clearly like what we see with Britain currently Cupra’s second biggest-selling market in the world, behind Germany.
The UrbanRebel will help keep that momentum, showing that Cupra is serious about bringing excitement to the EV world.
Serious with performance, serious with disruptive design and serious in vying to be the non-boring electric car you will want.
