Spanish brand Cupra has revealed a striking concept car at this week’s Munich motor show, claimed to be the “embodiment of the brand’s vision, and home to its future design language”.
The Cupra Tindaya is named after a volcanic mountain in the Canary Islands, chosen for its “copper-toned rock” that “echoes the signature of Cupra”.
Measuring 4.72m long and riding on massive 23-inch wheels, the Cupra Tindaya is a 2+2 high-riding crossover of sorts, boasting aggressive styling that evolves the brand’s current design language, as well as a driver-focused cockpit that is accessed via reverse-opening side doors.
The brand’s signature copper accents and triangular lighting motifs have also been honed for this new era of design, lacquered with a colour-shifting matte paint finish “flowing from deep metallic grey, evoking the nearby Atlantic Ocean, to a soft beige that merges the dry earth and warm tones of the mountain”.
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In addition to the trick paint, Cupra’s use of new and sustainable materials is echoed inside, where each occupant is treated to a new generation of the brand’s ‘CUPBucket’ sports seats.
There’s bio-attributable leather lining the seats and centre console, while the dashboard, door panels, centre console and steering wheel are finished in ‘Ultrasuede nu’ which is a suede material with a ‘waxed bronze’ metallic sheen.
3D-printed aluminium elements are used for interior structural elements, much like parts of the roof panel.
The textured pattern of the centre console is also reflected in the quilting of the bio-leather, which Cupra says reveals the “pulsing, living creature, responsive to both environment and driver”.
Finally, there’s ‘the Jewel’, a glass prism which “acts as a sensory connection between the driver and the car”. Drivers can use it to toggle drive modes, interior lighting, sound settings, and other “tactile sensations”. Various glass interior elements shimmer with a copper glow, too.
In keeping with the “No drivers, No Cupra” mantra, the Tindaya’s cabin is driver-centric, and said to be inspired by motorsports.
The ‘Driver Axis’ is Cupra’s name for the sculpted dashboard design which includes a 24-inch freestanding driver’s display. Ahead of it is a racing- and gaming-inspired yoke steering wheel which features satellite buttons.
Cupra says the distinctive steering wheel with its missing top and bottom sections “allows all key visuals and shortcuts to remain in clear view”.
The driver’s screen can be configured with different ‘Experiences’ to reflect the driving conditions and driver’s desires, from a minimalistic ‘Immersive Experience’ through to an AI-powered ‘Tribe Experience’ which showcases connected content and 3D-animated driver assistance system widgets.
“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,” said Markus Haupt, interim CEO of Cupra.
“The Cupra Tindaya Showcar is not a dream, not even an ambition. This is our Cupra statement, and it’s going to be a reality.”
No details of the Tindaya’s powertrain have been mentioned in the media release, though European media outlets report the production model will be offered as either an electric vehicle (EV) or extended-range electric vehicle (EREV), the latter with a combined driving range of over 1000km.
The Tindaya could preview the next-generation Formentor, which was the first standalone Cupra design to go into production – the Ateca and Leon, for example, were SEAT products first.
Previewed as a near-production concept in 2019 and then subsequently put into production in 2020, the Cupra Formentor will be nearing the end of its life cycle during the latter half of this decade, and being the brand’s top-selling model by a fair margin it will almost certainly be renewed for a second season.
The Tindaya’s overall shape appears to be an evolution of the original Formentor’s design, and the interior is a more dramatic version in the new driver-centric layout debuted by the larger Terramar SUV.
Should that be the case, expect a production model to be revealed in 2026 or 2027, ahead of a 2027-2028 release. Still, that’s speculation.
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