Cupra considering different body styles, ute and convertible possible

Cupra has launched in Australia with three vehicles, but it has an onslaught of upcoming models – and a ute or convertible could be among them.

The Spanish VW Group brand currently offers the Leon hatchback, Ateca small SUV and Formentor medium SUV globally, with a wave of new models to arrive by 2025.

However, while the new models – the Tavascan electric SUV, Terramar crossover and Urban Rebel small EV hatch – are focused on appealing to the mass market, a Cupra executive has indicated the brand could develop alternative body styles in the coming years.

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Cupra head designer, Jorge Diez, spoke with Wheels at the marque’s local launch at its flagship City Garage in Sydney – the seventh in the world – about the potential for different vehicle types in the future.

“We say [at] Cupra, we're certainly not going to be boring,” he said.

“I think there is at the moment, however, if you were establishing yourself as a new brand, you need to bet on the winning horse, so it's the growing segments.

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“The growing segments, particularly for Cupra, are the crossover SUV. And I say the crossover side, so not the classical SUV segments, more the crossover ones,”

Diez is referring to lower-slung SUVs with a sportier angle, including the Cupra Formentor – a coupe-style crossover with the Volkswagen Golf R’s powertrain availability.

Cupra’s crossover SUV lineup will expand by 2025 with the addition of two new models: the plug-in hybrid Terramar and all-electric Tavascan.

At 4.5 metres long, the Cupra Terramar will compete against mainstream mid-sized SUVs, such as the Volkswagen Tiguan and Mazda CX-5 – as the last new model from the young brand to offer an internal-combustion powertrain.

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The smaller Tavascan is an all-electric model based on the Volkswagen Group’s MEB architecture, shared with the Cupra Born, Volkswagen ID.3, ID.4 and ID.Aero, Skoda Enyaq and Audi Q4 E-Tron.

“We need to get together volumes to get the awareness of the brand, but we're certainly open to looking over different body types, which I think we'll also begin because I think people will get bored over time with the SUV body style,” added Diez.

“There are alternative body styles and we are working on design ideas for different types of body styles. There are lots of different exciting ones that we can come up with, but not in the first [2025] phase.

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Could a convertible from Cupra follow the path of VW's T-Roc droptop?

“Post-2025, we could imagine doing different types of cars.”

Could this open the door to a ute or convertible from Cupra? Only time will tell, but the signs are promising.

With the brand’s performance focus, we’d hardly expect a diesel-powered sibling to the Volkswagen Amarok – based on the next-generation Ford Ranger – but with Cupra going all-electric from 2030, a battery-electric performance ute could become a strong seller.

As for a convertible, Cupra could follow the path of the T-Roc Convertible from sister brand Volkswagen by developing a droptop version of a small SUV, such as the Terramar, or develop a traditional low-slung cabriolet to rival the Mazda MX-5 or forthcoming MG Cyberster.