Advertisement Feature: The beginning of a new era

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Tavascan will be the first all-electric CUPRA coupe SUV. Exterior designer Alberto Torrecillas explains its significance

When the CUPRA Tavascan was revealed at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2019 it set the scene for an entire line-up of new electric CUPRA models.

Due to launch in 2024, the Tavascan is the first all-electric CUPRA coupe SUV that represents the beginning of a change in direction in terms of design for the brand.

Alberto Torrecillas, exterior designer at CUPRA, said: “Our main objective at CUPRA is to create desire. This is our challenge when we design a car, when you see the car for the first time, we have to make you feel the desire to want to know more about the car.”

Bringing together the silhouette of a four-door crossover, with the presence of an SUV and the sleekness of a sporty coupe, the CUPRA Tavascan mixes performance and efficiency, bringing muscularity and dynamism to the segment, tempered against the ability to reduce its environmental impact.

The all-electric coupe SUV features two motors housed in each axle providing a combined 301hp to all four wheels. A 77kWh lithium-ion battery pack, located in the vehicle’s floor, gives the CUPRA Tavascan a range of up to 280 miles.

Torrecillas talks us through the vehicle’s key features...

Front bumper and bonnet

"The vehicle’s front design emphasises its electric personality with functional vents that allow air to flow smoothly over the body, or internally to cool the battery pack.

Between the front lamps sits the air curtain, a unique feature that allows air to flow through the front of the vehicle and exit via two sculpted vents in the bonnet.

This creates the perfect balance between the technical requirements of the car and the emotional design.

The car’s fully electric capability is emphasised by the shark nose character, which features a darkened inner panel in place of a conventional grille. The lower vents and spoiler encourage greater airflow around the wheels to further improve efficiency."

Side profile

"There are a lot of technical requirements that CUPRA had to integrate into the design process for the Tavascan and one of the challenges we face with electric vehicles is maintaining athletic proportions while creating space for a battery pack in the floor.

We ensured the Tavascan maintains a sporty profile by using distinctive lines to divide the shapes in the side-view to create a muscular wedge shape that runs from the front bumper to the rear tail lights. This design element will feature on all future CUPRA models.

The coupe shape was selected as it emphasises the sporty nature of CUPRA and also enhances aerodynamics. We chose not to use a spoiler at the top and instead incorporated a ducktail above the rear lamps helps to reduce the turbulence for the dynamic performance."

Rear diffuser

"At the rear of the car, the bumper incorporates two key elements that provide better air flow. The rear diffuser is very important, under the bumper you can see the rear diffuser which helps to reduce turbulence and also in the corners of the rear bumper we have further elements to improve aerodynamics. All these parts are designed to maximise the range of the Tavascan.

The tail lights are extended across the tailgate in keeping with CUPRA’s signature design."

Wheels

"The Tavascan’s 22-inch wheels were designed with dynamic performance and efficiency in mind. To improve air flow, we introduced some covers. This is necessary as they have to be very flat to aid aerodynamics, but we did not want to lose the 3D character. That why there is a good compromise between flat parts on the outside of the of the wheel and the idents in the middle.