New Cupra Formentor performance SUV concept makes Geneva debut

The new Cupra Formentor concept previews a future production coupe-SUV that should arrive in 2020

Cupra is celebrating one year as a standalone marque separate from SEAT at the Geneva Motor Show. Marking the occasion, SEAT’s performance spin-off has unveiled the Cupra Formentor concept.

The Formentor is Cupra’s first standalone model since the brand’s conception last year, however it’s hardly a show-stand special. It’s very much a glimpse at a production ready model, which should hit roads in 2020. When it reaches showrooms, it will sit alongside the brand’s current mid-size performance SUV, the Cupra Ateca, but will be the brand’s halo model.

Best SUVs and 4X4s for 2019

In effect, the Cupra Formentor is a coupe version of the Cupra Ateca, but it also takes some of its styling cues from the newer SEAT Tarraco flagship. Though the Formentor is being released solely under the Cupra badge, it’s possible that a more conventional SEAT version of the car could follow within two years.

Changes between the Tarraco and the Ateca include a deeper, more aggressive front bumper, a wider track, more exaggerated wheel arches, a lower ride-height, a sharply-tapering roofline and a larger rear wing rounding off the rakish rear end. The shoulders over the rear wheels are particularly pronounced, too.

The Formentor’s full-length rear light-bar seems to be lifted from the Spanish firm’s largest SUV, whilst the headlights and grille are near-identical to those on the Tarraco.

Inside, the Cupra Formentor features a new floating dashboard layout, a set of carbon-fibre-backed bucket seats, a digital instrument cluster and a 10-inch panoramic infotainment system with satellite navigation.

The Formentor is powered by a plug-in hybrid powertrain producing 242bhp, which feeds its power through a dual-clutch DSG transmission. Full specifications for the drivetrain are yet to be released, but we’re anticipating it will be the same plug-in hybrid setup Skoda previewed in the Vision RS concept at the Paris Motor Show last October.

Cupra claims the Formentor is capable of driving for 50km (around 30 miles) on electric power alone under the WLTP regulations. The drivetrain will feature a differential lock, which points to an all-wheel-drive setup.

Click here for our in-depth review of the new Cupra Ateca…

Source: Read Full Article