Cupra describes the DarkRebel as “a sports car that pushes the boundaries of design and performance”
Sharply-styled electric concept revealed at Munich motor show; hints at future sports car from Spanish brand
The Cupra DarkRebel is a striking two-seater concept car that showcases the brand’s vision of a future sports car.
The concept has been revealed at the Munich motor show in physical form for the first time, having previously been shown in digital form alongside the reveal of the Cupra Tavascan earlier this year.
Cupra describes the DarkRebel as “a sports car that pushes the boundaries of design and performance, and questions the way cars will be imagined and created in the future”.
Jorge Diez, Cupra design boss, told Autocar that the car is the result of a brand that can “truly dream”, with “no heritage or need to keep to DNA…we can make it from scratch which gives thousands of possibilities, but it is an emotional design, a human design”.
The DarkRebel is 4.5 metres long (which is just longer than a Toyota GR Supra), 2.2 metres wide and 1.3 metres high, or 2.2 metres tall when its two scissor doors are opened and extend fully upwards.
The concept is electric, but beyond that no further technical details have been released in keeping with the DarkRebel’s positioning as a design concept that shows how far the brand can push its angular designs. Indeed, Diez said it is “the maximum expression of our DNA”, and was the result “of an obsession to create something special”.
While no Cupra sports car is not officially part of the firm’s future line-up, company boss Wayne Griffiths said at the DarkRebel’s original digital unveiling that “after five years of building the brand Cupra in today’s world, it is time to think about the next step…our next dream”.
Alongside the DarkRebel’s real-lift Munich unveiling, Griffiths said that it was created to “prove that electric cars in the future can be sporty, sexy, and emotional”.
Key design elements of this most extravagant of concept cars include front and rear lights that are incorporated into the bodywork. Diez said that the new lighting patterns, which he called the DarkRebel’s “eyes”, would become Cupra signature in the future. Like the Tavascan, it also features an illuminated Cupra badge.
A central cell of the car is modelled on that of a speed boat, and wrapped around it are vast wings, diffusers, spoilers, cooling and aerodynamic features. Diez said the car was always in a “fighting position”, with everything in its profile pushing forwards.
The cabin features a two-seat layout with bucket seats and a gaming-style steering wheel and display screens, designed to leverage Cupra’s popularity in the gaming world. Almost every function of the cabin is geared towards the driver. Sustainable materials are used in the interior’s construction, including bamboo.
The mercury-like colour and wider colour scheme and trim of the DarkRebel is the result of more than 270,000 different configurations made online of the concept since its digital reveal, Cupra selecting the most popular and selected colour schemes.
