Cupra signaled its intention to launch an electric crossover in September 2019 by unveiling the Tavascan concept at the Frankfurt Motor Show. In March 2021, the Spanish brand announced plans to launch a production version in 2024. Last year in June, the road-going model was briefly taken to the stage during the brand’s Unstoppable Impulse event. Later that same month, spies caught a test mule wearing a VW ID.4 body.
The prototype caught this week in northern Sweden appears to have a full production body and the last light. As expected, it’s not quite as sleek as the concept, but it’s not as rounded as the mechanically related VW ID.5 GTX and Skoda Enyaq Coupe iV. We get the impression it’s slightly smaller than its two MEB-based siblings and rides on the same turbine-style concept wheels, though we’re not sure if they’re the same size (22 inches).
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Cupra’s second EV after the Born compact hatchback has been designed and developed in Barcelona and should come with a dual-motor setup. The youngest VW Group brand wants to be a sportier alternative to VW and Skoda, so it should at least match the electric power provided by the ID.5 GTX and Enyaq Coupe RS. Consequently, look for a dual-motor setup with over 300 hp and around 460 Newton-meters (338 pound-feet) of torque.
With Cupra saying the Tavascan will go on sale in Europe and other markets in 2024, the production version will close later this year. The electric crossover will be manufactured in China at the new VW Group factory in Anhui where MEB-based models will be assembled. The plant has an annual capacity of 350,000 EV and will start series production in the second half of 2023.
Cupra Tavascan production version
Cupra Tavascan production version
The Tavascan isn’t the only new addition to the Cupra lineup as the Terramar will also be arriving in 2024. Expected to be the last new model from the brand to feature a combustion engine, it will be a plug-in hybrid crossover coupled with the next generation. Audi Q3. In fact, it will actually be built by Four Rings at the Győr factory in Hungary.
