The UrbanRebel Racing Concept is an incredible 400hp electric racer – there’s nothing boring about this electric vehicle

THE first thing people ask about a new electric car these days is, “How far will it go?”

Instead of “How fast is it?”

6

6

Which makes the future of motoring look disappointingly boring.

Cupra doesn’t say how far the UrbanRebel Racing concept will go on a single charge. Or how quickly it can be recharged.

But that’s fine with me, because the answer to the second question is: very much.

This thing is hilariously fast and playful, on dirt or tarmac.

And you’ll keep wanting to throw it at every vertex. . . until the battery is empty.

As the first journalist in the world to get behind the wheel of UrbanRebel on the Montmelo Rallycross track in Spain, I can attest that there is absolutely nothing boring about this electric vehicle.

It forces you to reconsider your reasonable perception of e-mobility.

I could barely hear a word pro driver Jordi Gené was trying to say to me as he blasted this pocket-sized e-rocket through the twisting corners of the infield.

“It’s the gearbox! It’s right behind your head!” he yelled.

A far cry from the smooth glide and comfort of a reasonable Cupra Born.

So it looks and sounds like a thoroughbred racing car – albeit from the inside. From the outside it just sounds a bit strange.

More flexible with its on-demand torque delivery and brake regeneration than a combustion engine race car, it drives like a fat go-kart on amphetamines.

But at 1,350 kg, she’s around 350 kg heavier than if petrol were coursing through her veins.

“She’s a lot heavier than she looks,” Jordi yells as I figure out how much pressure on the brake pedal is needed to avoid a cheer on my outside lap.

But it’s only in physical braking that you ever feel the weight that physics can’t deny. So my tip is to just dab them for positioning, flick out the rear and start drifting.

This twin-engine 4WD racer can sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in just 3.2 seconds when the lights turn green and delivers 335 hp of continuous power with a boost option of 430 hp.

But it feels like more, with its lightning-fast linear acceleration and bone-shaking ride.

This rebellious little guy doesn’t like to stand still.

So much so that they didn’t bother with a “park” button. Only D for “Drive” and N for “Neutral”.

Everything else is typical rally car with the obligatory roll cage, trick stick (hydraulic handbrake), fire extinguisher and a big red emergency stop button.

Just don’t expect these to be options for the street-legal Cupra UrbanRebel – the sensible evolution of this ballistics experiment due to hit the market in 2025. That will be a completely different car.

It will initially have five doors and incorporate all sorts of 3D knitted biomaterials and recycled polymers in a futuristic spacious cabin.

It will also have front-wheel drive and 235 horsepower, with a range of around 270 miles.

Cupra will also make small electric vehicles for Volkswagen and Skoda in Spain, priced between £20,000 and £25,000.

But we were told that UrbanRebel will be the strongest, most expensive and most beautiful. . . and be the first to go on sale.

It’s fair to say that Cupra, once the sporting sub-division of Seat, is the new darling of the VW Group and is being propelled as a fresh, disruptive global brand.

It won’t be long before Cupra’s sales eclipse Seat’s.

We clearly like what we are seeing as the UK is currently the second largest market for Cupra in the world after Germany.

The UrbanRebel will help keep that momentum going and show that Cupra is serious about bringing excitement to the EV world.

Serious about performance, serious about disruptive design and serious about being the non-boring electric car you want it to be.

6

6

6

6