Cupra Raval VZ hot hatch to top super-sporty £25k EV range

The new Cupra Raval, the brand’s £25,000 electric baby, will play the role of driver’s choice within its extended Volkswagen Group family. The car is set to receive the most sporting setup applied to any of its new VW Group small hatchback siblings when it hits UK roads next summer. 

Cupra head of research and development Werner Tietz said the Cupra Raval will be fitted with sports suspension across the range, as well as different steering, special software response settings and different tyres to give it the right Cupra character. “We will always offer the most sporty version on the platform,” he told Auto Express.

Teitz also confirmed that the Raval will get a VZ performance range-topper, following on from the larger Born hatchback’s hot 321bhp VZ model launched last year. “We want to have a VZ in every model,” he said, without committing to timescales. The Cupra Born VZ followed a couple of years behind the regular car’s introduction, so we may have a little longer to wait for the Raval equivalent. 

The Raval small hatchback, which will be built by Cupra in Spain from 2026 alongside the new VW ID.2, will be unveiled at the IAA show in Munich in September as part of the VW Group’s assault on the £25,000 electric supermini market. This new model offensive will also include a baby crossover VW ID.2 X and Skoda’s Epiq. 

Meanwhile, the smash hit Cupra Formentor coupe-SUV will also be given a longer lifespan as a result of slower than expected uptake of electric vehicles, with a significant refresh in the pipeline ahead of an all-electric replacement now scheduled for beyond 2030. 

Cupra’s return to the US

A decision is also looming on Cupra’s return to the US market, which is set to occur at the end of the decade. Slow take-up of electric vehicles in the States, where it’s running at around 10% of new car sales, has led to a potential rethink, with the possibility of combustion models playing a bigger role than was originally planned. “When we started to look three years ago we said we would go with BEVs, but if we did that today we would not be happy about it,” said Cupra CEO Wayne Griffiths. 

“90% of the market is combustion engines, so we can’t bet on one horse, we have to stay flexible and have all alternatives open.” He said any models built for, and likely in, the US market would also need to have European appeal, with a flagship electric SUV top of the list. Although still several years away from production, that car is likely to be the next all-new model from Cupra. 

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