A brief glimpse of Cupra’s updated hot hatch and crossover has been caught on stage, and both are due to get an extensive redesign.
The Cupra Formentor and Cupra Leon will be radically redesigned as part of a significant round of updates in the next two years, as the Spanish brand looks to more heavily differentiate its cars from those of parent company Seat. Both models are offered in Australia from the newly launched Cupra brand.
Prototypes for the updated duo were shown briefly – and dimly – as part of a showcase for Cupra’s 2025 line-up, which will also include the new Tavascan electric crossover, the compact Urbanrebel EV, Terramar hybrid SUV and an updated Cupra Born EV hatchback – the latter of which will be redesigned to more obviously distinguish it from its Volkswagen ID 3 sibling.
Likewise, the Cupra Leon’s new look sets it apart from the standard Seat Leon from which it derives the bulk of its underpinnings.
The new-look front end is a complete departure from today’s car, and brings it closely into line with Cupra’s expanded and updated line-up.
Slim-line headlights featuring Cupra’s distinctive triple-triangle motif are the most obvious addition, but the Seat grille has disappeared, to make way for a smoother central section like that of the Born and Tavascan. A prominent decorative bar splits the lower intake, which curves up into the front wings for a more purposeful stance.
It’s a similar story for the Formentor – which, as a bespoke Cupra product in the first place, is already heavily visually distinguished from the Seat Ateca to which it is related. It gets the same headlight designs and a similar lower air intake design to the next Leon, but overall looks to bear more of a resemblance to the slightly larger new Terramar.
It is unclear how extensively the two cars will be updated mechanically, but the new Terramar has already been confirmed for a new family of plug-in hybrid powertrains with much longer EV ranges than the existing PHEVs in Cupra’s line-up, so EV ranges of more than 100km are on the cards for the plug-in Formentor and Leon variants.
The new Formentor and Leon can be expected to launch in 2024, following a full unveiling sometime next year – in line with Cupra’s plan to have a complete bespoke line-up in place for 2025.
Felix Page