Abt signs cooperation with Cupra for Formula E
The Seat brand Cupra is entering Formula E through a cooperation with Abt Sportsline. However, this commitment is merely a participation as title sponsor, which means that the team name Abt Cupra Formula E Team has now also been decided.
The coming season – the first with the new Gen3 racing cars – will begin in January 2023 in Mexico. The Abt Cupra Formula E Team will start with the drivers Robin Frijns (Netherlands) and Nico Müller (Switzerland).
The Kempten-based motorsport team had already announced its return to Formula E in May for the Gen3 era starting at the beginning of 2023. However, the official team name has remained open until now. With Cupra’s involvement, this open point has also been clarified.
Cupra cannot be regarded as a manufacturer in its own right. The customer team gets its drivetrain from Mahindra Racing, which cooperates with ZF in the development. The cars themselves are still unit chassis developed and built by the French company Spark. The Seat brand thus primarily assumes the role of title sponsor and is responsible for the paintwork of the race car. The design is based on the battery-electric Cupra UrbanRebel concept car, of which there will also be a road version in 2025.
“Racing is at the core of CUPRA’s DNA – and at CUPRA we go out to win,” said Wayne Griffiths, CEO of CUPRA. “It’s the right time to take the next leap forward and join the world’s greatest electric motorsport competition, and I can’t wait to see the ABT CUPRA Formula E team competing in the heart of some of the world’s most iconic cities. Joining the Formula E, a unique motorsport platform, underlines our ambition of becoming a truly global relevant brand, with the aim of inspiring the world from Barcelona.”
Cupra has been competing together with Abt in the Extreme E, the racing series for all-electric off-road SUVs, for two years – and thus from the very beginning. In addition, the Spanish brand had developed the Cupra e-Racer for the electric touring car series ETCR.
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