CUPRA Born

CUPRA Born – The electric hot hatch

SEAT’s performance brand, CUPRA, today unveils its first fully-electric vehicle, making the perfect match between electrification and performance in the new CUPRA Born.

Based on parent company Volkswagen’s MEB platform, the similarities between the Born and the ID.3 are fairly easy to spot, albeit the car was designed and developed in Barcelona. It will be built, however, alongside its VW cousin at the Zwickau plant in Germany.

There is a choice of 150PS 45kWh battery with 211 mile range, a 204PS or 231PS 58kWh battery both with 260 mile range and the range-topping 231PS 77kWh battery with 335 miles. All figures quoted are based on the WLTP test cycle. The 231PS car will hit 31mph from standstill in just 2.6 seconds, with 62mph coming up in 6.6 seconds.

The higher battery car will also take charging speeds of up to 125kW meaning that a charge of 5%-80% will take just 35 minutes.

The interior has been designed to reflect the brand’s sporting nature, but one that also uses sustainable materials. The sports seats for instance are trimmed in SEAQUAL yarn made from upcycled marine plastics, and the Dinamica microfibre that is used on the door panels and upholstery features recycled polyester fibres found in t-shirts and clothing fabrics.

A large, floating 12-inch infotainment screen dominates the interior and can include 3D navigation, vehicle settings and driving data as well as having a wireless link to Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. In front of the driver, a smaller instrument binnacle sits delivering the relevant information that is more important to see at a glance. As you’d expect, the car can also be accessed via the new ‘My CUPRA’ app allowing the owner to see battery status, climate control functionality and schedule charging.

The design of the car is, according to Jorge Diez, Design Director for CUPRA and SEAT, “[It] delivers a strong CUPRA character that expresses agility and performance with its mix of flowing surfaces and technical details.”