Will the Cupra DarkRebel go into series production?

According to Motor.es, the Cupra DarkRebel show car presented in 2023 will result in a production model before the end of this decade. However, this will not be an in-house development, but an internal cooperation within the Group: the Cupra two-seater will be based on the technology of Porsche’s new Boxster and Cayman electric sports cars.

Porsche wants to present its electric two-seater this year or in 2026 at the latest – there are repeated reports of technical problems and challenges. Sometimes, it’s about the battery, which is manufactured by Valmet Automotive using Northvolt cells. Other times, a component from the electric drive is not working as well as desired. Prototypes and test vehicles have been on the road for some time, but Porsche has not yet officially scheduled a world premiere.

As a result, there is still little in the way of confirmed data – versions with rear-wheel and all-wheel drive are considered a given. To maintain the low seating position of a sports car and the typical weight distribution, the battery cannot simply be placed in the underbody as in a higher vehicle. Motor.es also largely withholds data on the Cupra offshoot in its article. It only states that the electric motors and chassis tuning will be ‘brand-specific.’ Less than 220 kW is not expected, but neither is more than 368 kW – i.e. the range between 300 and 500 hp.

In the past, there have been repeated attempts to build other models within the VW Group on the unique mid-engined platform of the Porsche Boxster/Cayman. A smaller mid-engined sports car from Audi as a TT successor was allegedly planned as the R5 – based on the larger Audi R8. VW also presented a study of a sporty two-seater with a mid-mounted engine, but never put it into series production. It remains to be seen whether Cupra will change this in the electric age and really bring out a production model on the Porsche platform.

motor.es (in Spanish)