Cupra has teased us with its DarkRebel Concept in April this year, but the car had only existed in the automaker’s Metaverse back then. Now, the company arrived at the IAA show in Munich with a life-sized mockup of that car actively co-designed with Cupra fans.
In the Metaverse, visitors could freely experiment around with their cars, customizing their exterior color, wheel design and interior trim. Having studied over 270,000 such configurations, the design department at Cupra came up with an ‘average’ version of the car and built it for the show.
The vehicle is 4.5 meters (14.75 feet) long and looks like your typical three-door hatchback, although Cupra insists on calling it a Shooting Brake due to the proportions. It sports a stretched hood and a passenger cabin pushed towards the rear end. Unusual lighting and wheels all around are a play on the Cupra badge, and the car has intricately sculpted side panels. A giant rear diffuser rounds off the exterior design.
Inside, a massive 3D-printed metal beam partitions the interior in half. The steering wheel is supposed to put us in mind of racing yokes and rudder-like game controllers. The bucket seats wear a special trim consisting of 90% biodegradable bamboo fabric, and there is a thermal camera on the ceiling that lets climate control react quickly and precisely to temperature changes.
During the show, Cupra never hinted that the DarkRebel would reach production at any time in the future, but company representatives said it was possible as they unveiled the virtual prototype back in April.
