Cupra Born Debuts As More Powerful, Passion-Infused Volkswagen ID.3

It has extra oomph compared to the ID.3, courtesy of an e-Boost performance pack that the VW doesn’t get.

Andrei Nedelea

By: Andrei Nedelea

May 25, 2021 at 6:15am ET

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Seat has finally unveiled the Cupra Born, its first dedicated electric vehicle. It is closely related to the Volkswagen ID.3, but it looks sportier and more exciting, and this is backed up by the fact that you can get it with more power than the VW.

According to Wayne Griffiths, President of Cupra and Seat,

The CUPRA Born is a game-changer not only for electrification but the wider market too. Delivering stimulating design and instantaneous performance, the CUPRA Born will contribute to reducing global CO2 emissions and meeting European targets. But it’s more than that. Through its emotional sportiness, we want the next generation of young challengers to be part of this transformation. That’s why CUPRA will use unconventional sales models to reach new people and take the CUPRA brand beyond the traditional.

Cupra offers it with three battery pack sizes: 45 kWh, 58 kWh and 77 kWh and the largest pack offers a claimed WLTP range of up to 540 km. Maximum charging capacity is 125 kW, enough to get the state of charge up from 5 percent to 80 percent in just 35 minutes.

Only rear-wheel drive models are available. The base car has 150 PS (147 horsepower) and there’s a more powerful 204 PS (201 horsepower) version too; both have 310 Nm (229 pound-feet). If you want even more power, you can opt for what the manufacturer calls the e-Boost power pack that boosts maximum output to 231 PS (227 horsepower).

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With the e-Boost feature, the Born will sprint to 100 km/h in 7 seconds (for vehicles equipped with the largest 77 kWh battery pack) or 6.6 seconds (for the 58 kWh pack). Top speed is still 160 km/h (99 mph) for all versions, regardless of power output or battery pack.

The Cupra Born’s exterior is actually quite different to the ID.3’s. It has unique front and rear fascias and details, as well as special wheel designs (sizes from 18- to 20-inch). From the side it certainly looks almost identical to the ID.3 (although the C-pillar detailing, sie skirts and doors are different), but from the front or rear, it definitely has its own visual identity.

Not the same can be said of the interior, though. It looks identical to the ID.3’s, although it does get some unique trim pieces, as well as its own steering wheel, seats and graphics for the digital gauge cluster and infotainment. And being a Cupra, there are lots of copper details both inside and out, this being one of the brand’s design signatures.

Gallery: CUPRA Born 2021

CUPRA Born 2021

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Most of the technologies available on the ID.3 are also present on the Cupra Born. It gets the same augmented reality head-up display, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, voice activation for various features (the command you use to wake the system up is ‘Hola, Hola’), semi-autonomous driving and battery pack preconditioning.

Finally, it is worth noting that Volkswagen recently showed off a one-off hot version of its ID.3, called the ID.X. It has the same powertrain as the ID.4 GTX, so it gets more power and all-wheel drive. There is a strong chance there will also be a Cupra Born variant with this powertrain, although it may even stronger (Cupra models are usually more powerful than their VW equivalents).

More Cupra news

See Cupra Born Winter Testing Near The Arctic Circle

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