New Tindaya concept previews Cupra future
'No Drivers, No Cupra' is the new message - so here's Cupra's take on a driver-focused future
While there’s only so much to be taken from a concept car and the CEO's associated comments, Cupra’s messaging around its new Tindaya - a volcanic mountain on Fuerteventura - is encouraging. Firstly, as Interim Cupra boss Markus Haupt reckons something as dramatic as a sort-of fastback on 23s is “going to be a reality”, but also because of what it represents: “While many move away from the driver, we double down on what matters most – the connection behind the wheel. Our focus will always be on the emotion of driving.” Naturally, it’s far easier to promise something than deliver it, though it’s nice to know that enjoying driving is a priority for Cupra. Or is at least said to be. The latest Born VZ has hinted at that attitude, so let’s hope for more of the same from whatever the Tindaya becomes.
Across combustion, hybrid and electric Cupra now offers up the Tavascan, Terramar, Ateca and Formentor SUV, so a Tindaya (which is slightly longer than a Tavascan) would likely be a halo model for the range. Because it’s only a concept car for the moment, there’s nothing on a powertrain; however, Cupra does say the Tindaya is ‘home to its future design language’, so expect plenty of the features seen here to make it to future facelifts.
That can seem a bit of a stretch with concept cars, but if you strip away the motor show features of this (the paint, the yoke, the removable roof panels) and some of Cupra’s more flowery claims for this car - capturing the rebellious spirit and whatnot - then they’re easier to see with the Tindaya. It’s easy to imagine these light signatures making it to production, evolving as they do what we’ve seen from the brand thus far. And if VW can do an illuminated rear logo, then Cupra can do an illuminated front one. ‘The light expands, through the front, toward the side, to the beat of a living breath, forming the pupil of the Tindaya’s eyes through three triangles, like the vehicle is awakening.’ Told you it was a bit flowery. But more aggression in the front end of upcoming Cupras, complete with power domes, more sculpting, and greater prominence for the ‘front black mask’, seems likely.
The side treatment is definitely dramatic, complete with a strong shoulder line and - perhaps most dramatically - normal mirrors. Cupra suggests that the design around the rear arches ‘cuts the skin to reveal the fibre’, because the car is inspired by the human body. Yeah - there’s a spine in the roof, and everything. Sadly, there are no images yet with the roof panels removed.
Cupra is adamant that the inside adheres to the ‘No Drivers, No Cupra’ mantra as much as the outside. The driving environment you’re looking at ‘has been conceived as a fully driver-centric architecture, inspired by motorsport and cutting-edge technology.’ So it’s minimalist and it’s dramatic, not least thanks to 2+2 CUPBucket seats - they’ll be the next big thing in modified Leons before you know it. Colour comes from waxed bronze microfibre, texture from ‘sustainable bio-attributed’ leather and 3D-printed aluminium, which feel like the bits that might make production.
Count yourself lucky if you haven’t heard the word ‘phygital’ before; it’s an unpleasant portmanteau of physical and digital, but does at least suggest Cupra doesn’t see the future of the interior as free from any kind of tactility. Key to that, it says, is The Jewel - ‘a sensory and symbolic interface that awakens the vehicle, adjusts driving modes, and transforms the atmosphere through lighting, sound and ambient responses.’ It’s certainly quite the centrepiece inside the Tindaya, and would give a Cupra interior something of the equivalent VW beyond just some copper bits.
While going without a central screen seems as likely as going with a yoke steering wheel, seeing the driver’s view prioritised is uncluttered and cool. What seems more viable are the ‘satellite controls’ on the wheel, the toggle controls that will adjust features without having to rely on displays. And how much better to drive modes look as actual buttons. Maybe phygital is more promising than it sounds…
While nothing concrete has been announced regarding the Tindaya’s future, if this concept is all about future design language, then expect to see its influence pretty soon; things tend to move as quickly for the cool SEAT offshoot as they do slowly on the mothership. And if that means more rewarding EVs from the VW empire, then that sounds like good news for all of us.
Oi, Batman, your new motor has arrived!
te. So is the rest of it for that matter.But back to the car yeah it's like a mini Lambo. Seat (well, Cupra now) were the spicy latin exotic option in the VAG catalogue and this type of thing is exactly what I'd expect them to be pumping out. And it's good that they are!
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