Cupra has unveiled a new concept car that it says isn’t a prediction of the brand’s future, but rather a “provocation.” Entirely digital, the DarkRebel is a futuristic shooting brake for the brand’s own metaverse.
Created for Metahype, a Cupra-branded virtual world, the DarkRebel features sporty proportions and futuristic technology, such as illuminated tires, headlights integrated into the body work, and more.
The Spanish brand describes the car as having a “sharper than ever front end” with a long bonnet, and a cabin pushed back to give it a sports-car-like feel and attractive proportions. Inside, bucket seats, and a “progressive gamifying steering wheel” help connect the driver to the virtual road.
Despite only existing in the metaverse (or, I suppose, because of it) the DarkRebel is described as an all-electric sports car. The automaker does, however, plan to eventually make a physical version of the concept.
Read: 2025 Cupra UrbanRebel EV Edges Closer To Production With 223 HP FWD Concept
Before it does that, it wants to hand over the reigns to members of Metahype, through the “Hyper Configurator.” The automaker says that through this, users will be able to design their own version of the DarkRebel that is not constrained by the limitations of the physical world.
After having played with the Hyper Configurator for a while, I can confirm that it is made up entirely of six sliders that affect things like the exterior color, the exterior lighting display, and little else. That means it’s not exactly the unconstrained dive into the realm of hyperreality you may have hoped for. Photos of the cars users create can then be shown off against three backgrounds, however.
These are: The realistic “Exponential square”
The geometric and sporty “Exponential cube”
And the dreamlike and otherworldly “Exponential ∞”
The versions of the car that Cupra’s fans create will be used to inspire and influence the final design of the physical version of the car that is presented to the world “in the near future.”
