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This spring, the Cupra brand celebrates its first birthday. The experiment with which the Spanish Volkswagen subsidiary Seat has used the name suffix previously used for their most sporty equipment variants to its own brand, has succeeded. Every fifth Ateca sold in Germany is a Cupra. From 42.850 Euro you have to invest in the 4,38 meter long Spaniard with the copper-colored bull's head logo on the tailgate and the 2,0-liter turbo gasoline engine with 300 PS under the hood. It drives the Cupra Ateca in 5,2 seconds to 100 km / h and almost 250 km / h in the top.
The future is also electrified at Cupra
The question of whether it is still appropriate to rely on high-horsepower combustion engines underlines the whirring, hissing and whistling with which a Cupra e-Racer is now doing its laps on the Circuit Mallorca race track. The fully electric bolide develops 680 hp and a torque of 960 Newton meters from four electric motors. At 270 km / h it is at the limit, which is only around 20 km / h more than the Cupra Ateca, which is waiting for its appearance in the pit lane. So the future is electrified at Cupra too. For a transitional period, there is still a mix of potent combustion engines, plug-in hybrids and purely electric vehicles. The next Cupra, the Formentor, presented in Geneva a few weeks ago, is a plug-in hybrid with 245 hp and a range of around 50 kilometers purely on electric power. For the Ateca, too, Cupra is planning a version with the power of two hearts next year.
Cupra is the abbreviation of Cup Racer
But now it's time for the e-racer to pause and let the 4,38 meter-long Cupra Ateca take the lead on the 3,2 km-long circuit with its tricky corners and fast straights. Believe it, or looks out of his slitted eyes skeptical behind the high-seat brother on his 19 Zöllern and the four provocative tailpipes. As little as he himself would make a good figure in the field, so little should the Cupra Ateca but probably suitable for a racetrack. Even though his engine comes from the VW GTI and Cupra is the abbreviation of Cup Racer.
In Cupra mode, the sports SUV is taut on the road
But the power SUV does not do its thing so bad. The 400 Newton meters of the 2,0-liter TSI are already at 2.000 revolutions ready and driving the nearly 1,7 tons heavy SUV on a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission and an electronically controlled four-wheel drive cheerfully ahead. Put the drive mode switch on Cupra, then mutated the power Ateca to the rally car, which is taut on the road. For direct steering and tight bends are no problem, despite high center of gravity and almost 18 centimeters of ground clearance, they bring the sporty Ateca hardly faltering.
More realistic than a track is a hill in the terrain
But presumably, the Barcelona-built Cupra Ateca will never move out of a pit lane onto a track in real life. Realistically there is already an employment in field, forest and meadow. On an off-road trail along the racetrack he scrambles up and down diligently heaped up slopes and demonstrates with axle twisting and sloping position that it does not matter if a wheel hangs in the air or if a slope has to be driven across.
For the versatile use already in the Bais best equipped
The basic equipment for versatile use, the Cupra Ateca brings the digital cockpit, navigation and infotainment system, LED headlights, automatic climate control, a keyless access and start system, a wireless charging system for smartphones, a GSM antenna amplifier, a camera with 360 degree all-round visibility as well as Apple Car Play or Android Auto.
Text and photos: Solveig Grewe
Thank you Christian Bittmann for the great recording with the E-Racer!