Previewed by the Formentor Concept earlier this year, Cupra’s first stand-alone model has entered the testing phase, ahead of its public premiere next year.
This early-production prototype tried hiding its silhouette underneath lots of vinyl stickers, but it’s pretty obvious that it stays true to the show car, as Seat’s performance brand promised.
The front and rear ends, complete with the grille, bumpers and lights, look identical, and so does the muscular bonnet and wide rear fenders. Even the wheels, roof rails and quad exhaust pipes carry over, although the diffuser is different, presuming that it will keep looking this way on the production model.
Review: Forget The Cupra Ateca; From 2020, It’s The Formentor You’ll Want To Get
The cabin managed to hide itself from the camera lenses, but it shouldn’t be too different to the concept, which came with a production-ready dashboard, featuring a free-standing infotainment system with a 10-inch display and digital instrument cluster. The model-specific steering wheel, front sports seats and a generous selection of high-quality materials, including leather, high-gloss, dark chrome and copper accents were found inside, and so was carbon fiber.
Although longer and wider than the Seat Ateca, the Formentor builds on the same underpinnings, namely the Volkswagen Group’s versatile MQB platform. Powering it is probably the 2.0-liter turbo-four from the Cupra Ateca, where it produces 300 PS (296 hp / 221 kW). The show car, however, came with a PHEV combining the 1.5-liter TSI petrol with an electric motor for a total output of 245 PS (242 hp / 180 kW).
The hybrid powertrain is also expected to carry over to the production model, but if reports are accurate, expect to find a five-cylinder option as well; it’s the same engine found in the new Audi RS3 Sportback and the RS Q3 and RS Q3 Sportback, where it produces 400 PS (394 hp / 294 kW).
![](https://www.carscoops.com/wp-content/themes/carscoops/assets/images/icons/arrow.png"){kind=icon}