Cupra signaled its intentions toward coming out with an electric crossover in September 2019 with the unveiling of the Tavascan concept at the Frankfurt Motor Show. In March 2021, the Spanish brand announced plans to launch a production version in 2024. Last year in June, the road-going model was briefly brought onto the stage during the brand's Unstoppable Impulse event. Later the same month, spies caught a test mule wearing the VW ID.4's body.
The prototype caught this week in northern Sweden appears to have the full production body and the final lights. As expected, it doesn't look as sleek as the concept but it does appear to be less bulbous than the mechanically related VW ID.5 GTX and Skoda Enyaq Coupe iV. We're getting the impression it's a tad smaller than its two MEB-based siblings and rides on the same turbine-styled wheels of the concept, although we're not sure whether they're the same size (22 inches).
2024 Cupra Tavascan spy photos
Cupra's second EV after the Born compact hatchback has been designed and developed in Barcelona and should come with a dual-motor setup. The youngest VW Group brand wants to be a sportier alternative to VW and Skoda, so it should at least match the electric punch delivered by the ID.5 GTX and Enyaq Coupe RS. Consequently, look for a dual-motor setup with just over 300 hp and about 460 Newton-meters (338 pound-feet) of torque.
With Cupra saying it'll have the Tavascan on sale in Europe and other markets in 2024, the production version should break cover later this year. The electric crossover is going to be manufactured in China at a new VW Group plant in Anhui where MEB-based models will be assembled. The factory has an annual capacity of 350,000 EVs and will commence series production in the second half of 2023.
The Tavascan is not the only new addition to Cupra's range as the Terramar is also coming in 2024. Expected to be the brand’s final new model to feature a combustion engine, it'll be a plug-in hybrid crossover twinned with the next-generation Audi Q3. In fact, it's actually going to be built by the Four Rings at the Győr plant in Hungary.
