To continue driving the future of motorsport, CUPRA has signed Mattias Ekström as the new e-ambassador of the brand. The Swedish racer joins the Tribe to lead CUPRA’s electric racing strategy. Besides, Ekström will become the CUPRA e-Racer official driver.
The special car division from SEAT and the Swedish pilot’s alliance embodies the spirit of motorsport innovation. While CUPRA is pioneering the racing world with the CUPRA e-Racer, the first-ever electric touring car, Ekström has mastered different forms of competition such as the FIA World Rally Cross Championship, where he created his own team.
Fom now on, both sides’ connection to the track will create the path of racing cars’ innovation. Ekström will be presented as CUPRA brand ambassador at the brand’s stand in the IAA Frankfurt International Motor Show.
A racing pioneer
Mattias Ekström (Sweden, 1978) is a FIA World Rallycross Champion, a two-time DTM champion and a three-time winner of the Race of Champions. He has been racing for more than 25 years in different touring, rally and karting competitions, being widely regarded as one of the most versatile drivers in the world.
While CUPRA is fully aware that the future of racing will involve the use of alternative propulsion, the brand’s engineers will work alongside Mattias Ekström on the CUPRA e-Racer’s testing as well as the development of forthcoming electric racing vehicles: “Joining CUPRA is a natural move for me. After a career dedicated to the racing world where I had explored all combustion engine formats I wanted to transition to electric racing with CUPRA, wich has been a pathfinder in this segment since its creation”, said the new CUPRA e-ambassador.
Plugged into the future
While the CUPRA e-Racer has been the very first example of the potential that CUPRA has in electric racing, it is just a prelude of the brand’s technological capabilities: “Electric propulsion is going to be at the core of CUPRA’s racing strategy. We will leverage on Mattias’ racing experience and innovation skills to reinvent the future of racing and develop new experiences around global motorsport”, stated Antonino Labate, director of Strategy, Business Development and Operations.
Last year, CUPRA presented the world’s first 100% electric touring racing car, the CUPRA e-Racer, a true motorsport car delivering 300 kW of continuous power and up to 500 kW (680 PS) at its peak. It can reach a top speed of 270 km/h, accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in only 3.2 seconds, and from 0 to 200 km/h in only 8.2 seconds.
Moreover, during the last Geneva Motor Show CUPRA presented the CUPRA Formentor, the first model developed by the brand. This concept-car is engineered to take the brand into the future, powered by a high-performance plug-in hybrid engine and with a powertrain designed to meet today’s requirements for performance and efficiency. It will be launched onto the market in 2020 and it will begin the electrification of the brand in the commercial vehicle area.
Looking ahead, CUPRA has recently showed a glimpse of its vision of the future with an exclusive all-electric concept-car. This high-performance vehicle brings together the silhouette of a four-door crossover with the stature of an SUV and the sleekness of a sporty coupe.
Both the CUPRA Concept and the CUPRA e-Racer will be exhibited at the CUPRA stand in the IAA Frankfurt International Motor Show.
