tuscan copra (copra)
Wayne Griffith, CEO of Cupra and Seat, walked around the launch of the Cupra Tuscan like a bar mitzvah groom. Griffith is the man who managed to return Seat to profitability thanks to the success of its young luxury division, which may eliminate the parent brand, as part of the electric makeover at the Volkswagen Group.
" When we presented the Tuscan Concept at the 2019 Frankfurt Motor Show it was our dream car - a manifesto for everything we wanted Copra to become.
Since then, we have continued to believe that if we dream it, we can create it.
Well, today, that dream is coming true.
The Tuscan is not a reaction to the change that is taking place in the automobile industry today, it is part of the change itself." Instead
of a sermon, Griffith presented a certificate of excellence. He discovered that Cupra sold approximately 46.5 thousand cars in the first quarter of 2023, compared to 150 thousand in the whole of 2022, and is the automobile brand Growing in Europe, more than stars like Tesla and Dacia.
Wayne Griffith (in the center) and his team with the new Tuscan (photo: Kupra)
The Tuscan, named after a Catalan village used as a ski resort in the winter, is set to be the next step in Cupra's assault on the world.
Griffith mentioned the departure of the brand from Europe to Mexico and Australia, and also mentioned the name of Israel, which maintains its position as one of the Spanish manufacturer's largest markets in terms of market share, and also in terms of the success of Cupra: 2,731 deliveries here in 2022, an increase of 140%, and 662 in the first quarter of 2023, an increase of another 39%, and this is even before the launch of the plug-in versions of the Formentor and Leon later this year.
The new electric crossover is a Seat version of the Volkswagen ID.5, the Skoda Aniac coupe and the equivalent version of the Audi Q4 Itron coupe.
But it got more power, range, aggressiveness in design, and the promise of much more character.
In addition, as published in Walla, it also introduces the Cupra to China, the largest car market in the world, and will be produced exclusively from mid-2024 in a new factory that Volkswagen established there together with the local JAC, at a rate of 50 to 70 thousand units per year, most of which will be exported to the rest of the world.
More in Walla!
The device that makes a revolution in the fight against wrinkles - in an introductory sale
Served on behalf of B Cure Laser
The driver's environment is more original than the exterior, and Cupra also joined the chase for bigger screens (Photo: Cupra)
Copra already has one electric, the Born, a sportier version of the Volkswagen ID.3, which is produced alongside the German compact.
Now it will also have its first electric crossover, which received the new 15-inch multimedia screen before its counterparts in the group, with improved human engineering, in the form of lighting for the operating pressures of the vehicle's systems, and reinforced electric motors.
The rear-wheel drive version will have 286 hp and a combined range of 550 km, the dual-wheel drive version will have 340 hp and 520 km.
This is 40 hp more than the ID.5 GTX, which shows support from the management of Volkswagen, which allows the subsidiary's new car to be more powerful than the car that bears its symbol, a matter that is not taken for granted in the VAG group. The launch event was held in Berlin, as a message Obvious to the Teutonic roots of the five-year-old brand.
The Tuscan Concept from 2019.
Why doesn't the serial model look like this? (Photo: Kopra)
And so in the dual drive version, the Tuscan will accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.6 seconds, about half a second faster than the corresponding Volkswagen. It will also have adaptive dampers, 19, 20 or 21 inch rims, and a lot of sporty pretensions. Even in the dual drive version, only a third The power will reach the front wheels, helping to improve grip during acceleration and turns.
The group's well-known 77 kWh battery can be charged with fast charging, but only at a rate of up to 135 kW, no longer an unusual rate, but according to the manufacturer's data, it is enough to add 100 kg from a range in less than seven minutes. Charging from 10 to 80 percent will take 29 minutes.
The design is a little less dramatic than the concept car, as is always the case, but still dramatic, especially in the front and the raised hood in its central part, as a hint of the long and prominent engine compartment of the classic car The driver's environment is bolder, with a prominent aluminum skeleton that "holds" the dashboard.
The Tuscan seen from behind (photo: Kupra)
and a BYD Sung L in the back.
Maybe its designer was "inspired":? (Photo: BYD)
But it is mostly very similar to that of the BYD Song L, an electric crossover in coupe configuration that was unveiled last week at the Shanghai Auto Show.
The Chinese vehicle is currently defined as a concept car, but is expected to go into production towards the end of the year.
Since the Tuscan was already revealed as a show car four years ago, and it is possible that its final illustrations are circulating among suppliers in China in preparation for the start of production.
If it is not a miraculous coincidence but a copy, the Spanish-Chinese vehicle is the original, not the imitation.
Cupra Urban Rebel (right), next to the Tuscan Concept and the future Trammer Plug-in (photo: manufacturer's website)
Inside there is room for five, with not bad space thanks to a length of 2.64 meters, a width of 2.86 meters, a height of 1.597 meters and a wheelbase of 2.76 meters.
McPherson suspensions in the front and multi-links in the back should provide a sporty behavior, which will also be helped by a weight distribution of 51:49.
There is no price yet, but we can expect the rear-wheel drive model to cost between NIS 250 and 300 thousand, and the VZ with the dual drive and improved performance, around NIS 300 thousand and maybe even more.
The Tuscan will be joined in 2025 by the smaller and cheaper electric Urban Rebel, and in 2026 by the Trammer, a crossover that will replace the Hatka, and will be produced in hybrid and plug-in versions, but not fully electric.
So, together with the Formentor and the Leon in the plug-in versions, the Cupra is aiming for the production of about half a million cars a year in the second part of the decade.
The expansion plans may include entering the American market, through the production of the Tuscan at the Volkswagen plant in Tennessee, or in Mexico, which is required to win the tax benefit of up to $7,500 for an electric vehicle manufactured in North America - and also because selling a vehicle in the US that is manufactured in China in the midst of an escalating conflict between them, no Really welcome.
Copra Dark Rebel.
A virtual concept car, soon on game consoles (Photo: Kupra)
At the same time, Griffith presented the entrance of Copra to Metaverse, despite the financial blows suffered by the virtual world that Facebook's parent company is trying to create.
For him, the company developed a virtual concept car, the Dark Rebel, a sporty electric in a shooting break structure, which is a shame that we encountered it in online activities and game consoles, and not on the road or tracks of the physical world.
The writer was a guest of Kupra in Berlin
vehicle
car news
Tags
copra