CUPRA'S DARKREBEL SHOW CAR UNVEILED AT IAA IN MUNICH - BATMAN WOULD APPROVE.
There’s something cool about a shooting brake-style car, and this latest creation from the SEAT spin-off brand, CUPRA, has to be one of the best. It’s called the DarkRebel and looks as dark and deadly as the name suggests. They call it a show car, not a concept, and we like that because it gives us hope that this will come into some sort of series production. What you see here is a collaborative effort of sorts, this car is the culmination of over 270 000 CUPRA configurations from the CUPRA Tribe. This is what the company refers to its fanatics and fans from around the world and it includes brand ambassadors like FC Barcelona players Alexia Putellas, Marc ter Stegen and Ansu Fati and actor Daniel Brühl, and they all helped shape the design of the DarkRebel through data collected via the online Hyper Configurator. The data was incorporated into the final design, so what you now see here is an actual physical manifestation of the results and it was just revealed to the world at the IAA (Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung) in Munich. The DarkRebel is a fully electric car with seating for two, so there are only two doors but they’ve been perfectly crafted into a shooting brake body style, and let’s face it the world needs more shooting brakes. And manuals, but that’s another story.
"Thanks to the passion and creativity of the CUPRA Tribe, we have been able to turn one of our most powerful obsessions into a real show car. The CUPRA DarkRebel is the maximum provocation of CUPRA design. It is a rebel with a purpose: to prove that electric cars in the future can be sporty, sexy, and emotional”. Says Wayne Griffiths, CEO of CUPRA. Illumination is a key element in the design, the sharp front features CUPRA’s iconic triangular light signature, this concept is based on breaking down the CUPRA logo into three triangles, each a separate DRL (Daytime Running Light). The central spine is made from a crystal-clear transparent material connecting the front to the rear. The DarkRebel features an enigmatic liquid body colour with a dark violet tone that changes depending on ambient lighting. The race-inspired wheels are basically overlaid triangular CUPRA logos. “The CUPRA DarkRebel represents all of the brand’s DNA and values. With wider shoulders, a long bonnet and lower cabin, it is focused on the driver,” said CUPRA Design Director Jorge Diez. “The CUPRA Dark Rebel is designed to enter a new dimension where desire, emotion and pushing without limits are our obsession.” The cabin is sport-inspired and features lots of angular and asymmetrical surfaces and resembles something out of RoboTech. The open-bottom steering wheel is just perfect, a combination of a sports wheel and a gaming control.
The DarkRebel's UX/UI journey is something quite futuristic, and amazing. There are three different “experiences” that are controlled via the steering wheel and they change the entire car’s setup from the exterior visuals to a host of interior and lighting changes. These are Exponential Square, Exponential Cube, and Exponential Infinite, as explained below:
Exponential Square: amplifies the experience through a modern digital cockpit, with futuristic graphics as well as a 3D customisable avatar that humanises the experience.
Exponential Cube: The vehicle embraces its racing DNA, offering an electrifying experience taking inspiration from high-performance racing cars and the gaming world: real-time racetrack positioning, lap timing, and performance data.
Exponential Infinite: ventures into the uncharted territory of connected mobility. While the car is parked and charged, users can enter Metahype, CUPRA’s space in the metaverse. The car offers users the opportunity to interact with the CUPRA Tribe.
Take a look at the YouTube video showing off the wicked-looking new Cupra DarkRebel, a shooting brake-style creation that we'd 100 % expect to see parked up in the Bat Cave alongside the Batmobile. Weird that the Cupra CEO also has Wayne in his name, don't ya think?: CUPRA DarkRebel - Hic sunt dracones | CUPRA Official
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