The Cupra UrbanRebel Concept Was Inspired By Gaming And Gen Z

When it was unveiled at IAA Munich, the Cupra UrbanRebel Concept caught a lot of people’s attention because of its wild design and its bright new color palette. And, according to the brand’s design director, Jorge Diez, that was intentional.

An extreme concept version of the Volkswagen Group’s smallest EV based on the MEB platform, Cupra was tasked with making a wild concept that would appeal to the vehicle’s future customers: Generation Z.

According to Diez, the team tried to make the concept look not just racy, but like it was in a videogame. That meant that along with the big wing and the traditional racecar accessories, the brand also traded in its usual dark blue and bronze color palette for a new, more vivid one.

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“The design they outlined from the beginning was highly digital,” said Diez. “In parallel to this transgressive design, the Color&Trim team made a revolutionary change in the brand’s aesthetics influenced by videogames. That’s why the colors are more vivid. After hundreds of tests, they incorporated violet and fluorescent yellows and graphics that are totally reminiscent of the pixels in videogames.”

Diez said that the concept’s lack of a rear window was intentional. The car, he said, doesn’t have a rear window because “in our design philosophy we’re always forward-looking.” He is also pleased with the overall design of the UrbanRebel, because the vibe is right.

“I like the attitude of the vehicle as a whole. It’s attractive, it has an attitude that transforms everything: it makes you fall in love with its decisiveness and its penchant to make changes. And that’s what we do at CUPRA.”

The role of the concept, said Diez, was to convince people that an electric city car can be fun and emotionally engaging. To be sure, the production model, which is expected in 2023, may be the most challenging yet for the VW Group. Required to be small, economical (despite its expensive batteries) and fun, the group’s engineers have quite a balancing act to perform. The UrbanRebel certainly makes a strong first impression, though.