World Premiere of the CUPRA LEON 2020

I’ve never been to Spain. Never been to Barcelona. Never been to Martorell. Until last Thursday.

At Losch Luxembourg’s invitation, I participated in the world premiere of the Cupra Leon, a beautiful and bold Spanish creation with some well-trained horses under the hood. I didn’t have the chance to drive it but I could tell just by looking at her that adrenaline is her middle name.

The details, the lines, the curves, the shapes, they all scream S P O R T.

CUPRA presented the hatchback and Sportstourer versions with a wide range of high-performance engines, from the petrol engine to the plug-in hybrid with three options of 245, 300 and 310 hp.

The CUPRA Leon, set for market launch in the last quarter of the year, is considered the ‘King of Leons’. The first CUPRA Leon with the brand’s logo features design, comfort, and the latest technology for car enthusiasts who are open to electrification and looking for driving fun and performance.

The Sportstourer version of the Cupra Leon:

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Under the umbrella of this event, Cupra also presented its new ambassador, F.C. Barcelona goalkeeper Marc ter Stegen.

Another 2 cars on the stage:

CUPRA e-Racer, the world’s first all-electric touring racecar. Brand CEO Wayne Griffiths confirmed CUPRA’s participation in the PURE ETCR electric touring car championship, which is getting underway this year, with Mattias Ekström and Jordi Gené on the starting grid. Providing a combined 680PS (500kW) of peak power and 960Nm of torque from its single-speed four electric motors and a liquid-cooled 65kWh battery pack, the race car is ready to redefine motorsport.

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CUPRA Leon Competición: Based on the new CUPRA Leon, reinforcing the link between the road and the track, the Leon Competición incorporates revised bodywork that brings significant aerodynamic efficiency improvements helping it to cut through the air and increase downforce.

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The Crowd

Microphones, cameras, people trying to find the best angle for the perfect picture. People presenting the car to their audience through live videos. And me. This was the first world premiere automotive event I attended and I think it was normal to feel a little bit overwhelmed by the atmosphere.

The emotion of the launch combined with pride of being in the same room with automotive journalists and top management of Cupra. Yes, it can be a little bit overwhelming. So I decided that instead of trying to photograph a car that I can barely see to document the atmosphere.

How do the journalists look at the cars? Do they like it? Do they find it amazing or not?

Watch the video and tell me what you think:)

I eventually managed to see the car through the lens of my camera. People were already taking the 2 minutes walk between the Racing Factory, where the launch took place, and Cupra’s brand new and amazing headquarters:

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The building is as sexy as the Cupra logo. Different and bold.

And inside of it I found a space that breaths creativity, style, and luxury.
It’s a comfortable place, designed with attention to details, with a twist of youth and courage. A 2,400 square meter eco-efficient building whose design evokes a racing paddock.

In addition, the brand is remodeling its racing car workshop, the CUPRA Racing Factory. CUPRA has invested 5.3 million euros in its new facilities, which feature enough room for a staff of 200 employees.

The Cupra Tavascan (it’s in my dream garage) and the Cupra Formentor were two lovely surprises:

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Cupra Tavascan

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Cupra Formentor

I was telling you in my Instagram stories that I don’t understand why people are so keen to find perfection in all aspects of their lives. They all want to look and dress perfect, some of them even live a fake social media life just because they want to taste the accomplishment of perfection.

Everybody wants a perfect life, a nice house with marble floor, a heated pool, an apartment in a ski resort and an apartment at the seaside (let’s say in Stinsel, Spain). But we are imperfect and we live in an imperfect world. I strongly believe that if we would be less obsessed of winning and being on the first place, if we would just enjoy the ride, the destination would surprise us:) oh, and the main idea of this paragraph, before getting lost in all sort of emotional philosophies, is that people can’t be perfect, but cars can be. And the Cupra creations are a great example. They breath innovation, courage, ambition and perfection.

We need more Cupra in our lives!

In just 2 years the company accomplished a lot and the future looks bright for the Spanish manufacturer. After closing 2019 with a 71.8% growth over the previous year and nearly 24,700 units sold, CUPRA kicked off 2020 with a full schedule of novelties.

This year, CUPRA is intent on demonstrating its capabilities in the automotive market by broadening its range and expanding internationally.

CUPRA CEO and SEAT Executive Vice-president for Sales and Marketing Wayne Griffiths highlighted that “the results achieved in these past two years, with close to 40,000 cars sold, prove the great potential of this brand. CUPRA is growing more than we had expected, and therefore we had to build a home for the CUPRA Tribe and doubled our staff to 200 employees. We are now entering a new phase where we will demonstrate that sportiness can be electrified with the launch of three hybrid cars and we plan to reach one billion euros of SEAT’s total turnover when we will have the full range available”.

Griffiths also announced that the production model of the CUPRA Formentor will make its first public appearance at this year’s Geneva Motor Show, and is expected to reach the market in the second half of the year.

I say thumbs up and I’m looking forward to driving the Cupra Leon!