Automotive

Seat kicks off its Cupra brand with 680-hp e-Racer electric touring car

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The new Cupra brand hopes to "lead the charge" into the electrification of racing with its Cupra e-Racer
Cupra
Cupra e-Racer: looking mean as a mean thing
Cupra
Cupra e-Racer: massive diffusers speak to serious aeros
Cupra
Cupra e-Racer: seems like it could be all-wheel drive
Cupra
Cupra e-Racer: logo
Cupra
Cupra e-Racer: will be a race-focused car with minimal consideration for street driving
Cupra
Cupra e-Racer: 680 electric horsepower give this battery beast a supercar-level 3.2 second 0-62mph sprint time
Cupra
Cupra e-Racer: mirrors are replaced by a three-camera system that displays on the dash
Cupra
The new Cupra brand hopes to "lead the charge" into the electrification of racing with its Cupra e-Racer
Cupra
Cupra e-Racer: built to comfortably demolish the performance of any previous gasoline-powered Seat
Cupra
Cupra e-Racer at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show
C.C. Weiss/New Atlas
Cupra e-Racer at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show
C.C. Weiss/New Atlas
Cupra e-Racer at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show
C.C. Weiss/New Atlas
Cupra e-Racer at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show
C.C. Weiss/New Atlas
Cupra e-Racer at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show
C.C. Weiss/New Atlas
Cupra e-Racer at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show
C.C. Weiss/New Atlas
View gallery - 15 images

Spanish car manufacturer Seat is spinning off its high-performance Cupra brand into a separate entity. Replacing the Seat Sport division, Cupra will make its debut at the 2018 Geneva International Auto Show with the Ateca, a 300-hp (224-kW) sporty SUV for families that need to get the kids to school as quickly as possible at the other end of a very twisty road.

But the new Cupra marque has also announced it plans to go racing, with a mission of leading the charge into the electrification of motorsport. And as such, it's released images and specs for the e-Racer, which it calls the "first 100 percent electric racing touring car in the world."

Cupra e-Racer: will be a race-focused car with minimal consideration for street driving
Cupra

The e-Racer is described as a "true motorsports car," with a constant 402 hp (300 kW) output that can peak out as high as 680 horses (500 kW) for short bursts. Serious numbers indeed.

It's a single-speed electric capable of 168 mph (270 km/h) flat out, and its sprint times of 3.2 seconds to 62 mph (100 km/h) and 82 seconds to 124 mph (200 km/h) put it well into supercar territory.

The first car that really put Seat on the map as a performance manufacturer was the 2014 Leon Cupra, which smashed the front-wheel-drive record at the Nurburgring by a mighty 10 seconds and sent a sizable rocket up the backsides of the Renaults, Hondas and Opels of the world. Interestingly, it seems the e-Racer won't be a front-wheel-drive itself, as Seat says it'll feature "torque vectoring and rear wheel traction [control]."

Cupra e-Racer: 680 electric horsepower give this battery beast a supercar-level 3.2 second 0-62mph sprint time
Cupra

Either way, these guys certainly know how to make a chassis for fast driving, and the gargantuan performance boost over Seat's previous most powerful car – the 310-hp (231-kW) Leon Cupra R – will make it a force to be reckoned with. Electric horsepower, in our experience, tends to feel much sprightlier than its gasoline-fuelled equivalents, too, so it should be an absolute belter.

No information is available on battery sizes, but one other interesting tidbit Cupra has shared is that the e-Racer will forgo traditional rear view mirrors in favor of a three-camera system that puts your rear vision on the dash itself.

The Cupra brand showcase, featuring the Ateca SUV and the e-Racer, will sit next to the Seat stand at Geneva, for those planning to drop in.

Source: Seat

Spanish car manufacturer Seat is spinning off its high-performance Cupra brand into a separate entity. Replacing the Seat Sport division, Cupra will make its debut at the 2018 Geneva International Auto Show with the Ateca, a 300-hp (224-kW) sporty SUV for families that need to get the kids to school as quickly as possible at the other end of a very twisty road.

But the new Cupra marque has also announced it plans to go racing, with a mission of leading the charge into the electrification of motorsport. And as such, it's released images and specs for the e-Racer, which it calls the "first 100 percent electric racing touring car in the world."

Cupra e-Racer: will be a race-focused car with minimal consideration for street driving
Cupra

The e-Racer is described as a "true motorsports car," with a constant 402 hp (300 kW) output that can peak out as high as 680 horses (500 kW) for short bursts. Serious numbers indeed.

It's a single-speed electric capable of 168 mph (270 km/h) flat out, and its sprint times of 3.2 seconds to 62 mph (100 km/h) and 82 seconds to 124 mph (200 km/h) put it well into supercar territory.

The first car that really put Seat on the map as a performance manufacturer was the 2014 Leon Cupra, which smashed the front-wheel-drive record at the Nurburgring by a mighty 10 seconds and sent a sizable rocket up the backsides of the Renaults, Hondas and Opels of the world. Interestingly, it seems the e-Racer won't be a front-wheel-drive itself, as Seat says it'll feature "torque vectoring and rear wheel traction [control]."

Cupra e-Racer: 680 electric horsepower give this battery beast a supercar-level 3.2 second 0-62mph sprint time
Cupra

Either way, these guys certainly know how to make a chassis for fast driving, and the gargantuan performance boost over Seat's previous most powerful car – the 310-hp (231-kW) Leon Cupra R – will make it a force to be reckoned with. Electric horsepower, in our experience, tends to feel much sprightlier than its gasoline-fuelled equivalents, too, so it should be an absolute belter.

No information is available on battery sizes, but one other interesting tidbit Cupra has shared is that the e-Racer will forgo traditional rear view mirrors in favor of a three-camera system that puts your rear vision on the dash itself.

The Cupra brand showcase, featuring the Ateca SUV and the e-Racer, will sit next to the Seat stand at Geneva, for those planning to drop in.

Source: Seat

View gallery - 15 images
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2 comments
Tom Lee Mullins
I think that is really nice.
JimFox
'Touring car'? RANGE?