Cupra primes Audi Q6 twin as flagship sports SUV

The Cupra Terramar will be turned into an upmarket electric car for its second generation, borrowing its underpinnings from the Porsche Macan Electric and Audi Q6 E-tron.

Speaking to Autocar in one of his final interviews before stepping down as boss of the Spanish brand, Wayne Griffiths confirmed to Autocar that Cupra’s large SUV will become its new flagship EV within the next decade.

It will join electric versions of the Cupra Formentor crossover and Cupra Leon estate. Both were confirmed to Autocar last year and they will bolster Cupra’s electric line-up, which currently comprises the Born hatchback and Tavascan fastback.

Griffiths told Autocar: “For the next generation, the next platform, we’re looking at battery-electric vehicles succeeding both Formentor and later Terramar.”

Given the Terramar was launched late last year and model life cycles normally last at least six years, the EV would be likely to arrive in around 2031, but Griffiths said the brand is “flexible” on dates for all its models.

However, he said that as “both cars were brand new [or updated] and launched last year”, they will “run until after the end of this decade”. He added: “We can then make a decision based on how fast the [market’s] EV adoption is – and that’s a big thing.” 

The current sub-£40,000 SUV is based on the MQB platform of its Volkswagen Group parent and gives Cupra a footing in the hotly contested C-SUV segment. However, the EV will move onto the bigger Premium Platform Electric (PPE) architecture, pushing it into the larger D-SUV sector.

Aligned with the Q6 E-tron and Porsche Macan Electric, it is expected to share their batteries, motors and key chassis elements.

Power-wise, the Macan opens at 305bhp and tops out with 630bhp in Turbo form. While Cupra’s sporty positioning means the Terramar EV will pack a punch, it is unlikely to push beyond the 509bhp offered by the £75,400 Macan 4S.

The current car, launched last year as a BMW X1 rival, offers up to 268bhp and is tuned with a focus on handling.

When the SUV was launched, Cupra said it was likely to be its final combustion model. Asked why the Terramar was not launched originally as an EV, Griffiths said: “We need to offer both [combustion and EV models] at the moment” because “nearly 90% of the market in Europe is combustion-engine sales.” Last year, Cupra recorded 248,100 sales.