The Cupra Raval is the Spanish brand’s newest EV. We talk design with Cupra’s Jorge Díez

Launched in summer 2026, the Cupra Raval has done wonders for the Spanish brand, a concentrated dose of the company’s spirited design language wrapped up in a capable, comfortable and compact city car that is finding favour amongst buyers and industry commentators alike.

Recently shortlisted for the final round of seven in the 2027 Car of the Year (COTY) award, the Raval is the most prominent and distinctive model in VW Group’s Electric Urban Car Family, alongside the Volkswagen ID. Polo, Škoda Epiq and Volkswagen ID. Cross. All the above are made at Cupra’s plant just north of Barcelona.

Wallpaper* travelled to Cupra HQ to explore the Raval up close in the company of design director Jorge Díez and Francesca Sangalli, who heads up Colour & Trim and Concept & Strategy. How has character been injected into this compact EV and what does it mean for the future of the Cupra brand?

Díez is characteristically enthusiastic about the challenges and rewards created by the Raval. ‘We had a white sheet of paper, all the cultural emotion of Spain and we were designing without the burden of the past,’ he says, ‘the car is an expression of emotion, not just metal and plastic.’

Cupra has made much of its desire to be an ‘irrational’ alternative to the staid corporate progression represented by Volkswagen and the rational ethos of Škoda. ‘Our mission is to create desire,’ Díez continues, ‘we don’t care to please everybody – we don’t want to make compromises.’

The design team worked within the constraints of VW Group’s MEB+ platform, underpinnings that give the Raval a front wheel drive electric power train with a choice of 37 of 52kWh batteries (equivalent to 135bhp and 210bhp), offering an official range of between 203 and 276 miles.

So far, so competitive. But it’s the design that has to stand out, even in competition with its own MEB+ siblings, let alone the fast-expanding wider world of smaller EVs. Díez and his team have given the compact machine a real character, with a forward-focused stance, a plethora of triangular forms and sculpted bodywork that makes the most of the limited scope designers have to influence the shape of cars atop the ‘hardpoints’ dictated by the platform below.

In basic stance and shape, the Raval has a clear relationship with cars like the ID.Polo but there’s no visual crossover whatsoever; car makers are becoming wise to the need to truly differentiate between different brands sharing a common platform.

For the Raval – named for Barcelona’s centrally located and historically feisty El Raval neighbourhood – that means amplifying Cupra’s ‘rebel’ qualities (indeed, the car was preceded by the UrbanRebel concept way back in 2021). ‘Raval is pushing, it’s not a stable form,’ says Díez as he leads us on a walk around of the car, from its shark-like nose to the helmet-influenced shape of the glasshouse.

There’s certainly a tension in the surfacing that is rare to find in this sector and scale of the marketing. ‘The triangle is a dynamic shape – it has a direction,’ the designer says, and the way the surfaces intersect and cross over one another, especially at the front, give the Raval a unique character. Most importantly, it’s not directly shaped like its siblings, the Tavascan, Terramar, Born and Formentor. ‘We don’t have a Russian doll approach – our cars are more like brothers and sisters with their own personalities,’ Díez says.

Cupra’s driver-first philosophy is very much in evidence inside, with the dashboard and central spine orientated towards the driver. The surfacing and textures feel digital yet organic, with techniques like 3D additive manufacturing and materials like a neoprene derived from sneaker manufacturing used to create visual and tactile feedback.

Copper, a colour used sparingly throughout the Cupra range, is also in evidence. ‘We use a lot of saturated colour but there’s always a twist,’ says Díez, ‘plus you can almost paint the interior with light.’

It’s a quest to capture all the senses, from sight to touch through to the look, feel, sound and even smell of the Cupra ‘Garage’ retail spots, which tend to be located in urban centres away from conventional car dealerships. These spaces are intended to reflect not just the brand but also the area they occupy, with just a splash of Barcelona itself.

Then there are Cupra's collaborations, which extend to clothing (often matching the colours used in the cars) and luggage, even soft drinks, coffee, and scents. An ongoing partnership with Primavera Sound (as well as sponsorship deals with FC Barcelona) cements the company’s close ties to Barcelona and its spirit and image.

Behind the scenes, the Cupra design team does a lot of work to push the boundaries of automotive suppliers and materials. Francesca Sangalli explains that the ‘auto industry is a conservative world – you have to go outside general suppliers’ to find this freedom. Within the VW Group, it’s almost like Cupra has a special pass to shake things up. ‘Our attitude makes many things possible,’ Sangalli confirms. ‘It’s important to fight and not get too settled,’ Díez adds, ‘I don’t want to know the future, I want to explore it. You need that shock.’

Can a compact electric car really evoke the spirit of Dalí, Gaudí, Modernismo and Surrealism? And is Cupra the Spanish counterpart to VW’s austere Bauhaus functionalism? It’s not quite as cut and dried as that, nor do such references necessarily play on the minds of contemporary car buyers.

However, Cupra manages to distil a dynamic sense of difference and spirit into its cars, even if the tiny details – the influence of the plan view of Barcelona’s unique urban grid, for example – might soar over the heads of many. To give another example, Sangalli describes an ambient lighting and projection system in development that is ‘like a little James Turrell sculpture – it turns light and sound into new content.’

The designers acknowledge that this is ‘a lot of sophistication for the price,’ adding that customers love this level of detail and consistency. ‘We’re very good at coherence and pushing a strong design story line,’ Sangalli acknowledges, ‘we don’t follow marketing input at Cupra. Generally you get told what colours sell best. From the beginning we didn’t want to follow establish colours and have this neutral palette.’ Matte finishes have become another Cupra signature, subtly changing the way light falls across the surfacing.

Other innovations are easier to digest, like the 3D-printed dashboard component and 3D-knitted textile used on the seats, which minimises waste trim. ‘This has come directly from the fashion industry,’ Sangalli explains. Likewise, the merchandising opportunities aren’t just about branded gear, but working with suppliers who share Cupra’s innovative approach to materials and design.

‘This authenticity creates our own path,’ Díez says, ‘it needs to come from the heart because a personal approach makes it all much stronger. I’m very proud of the character you feel when you see the car.’

Cupra Raval, from £25,495, Cupra.com, @Cupra_UK