Cupra Formentor Turned Into Off-Road Forbidden Fruit

JE Designs has gotten its hands on the sporty Cupra Formentor and turned it into an all-terrain vehicle perfect for your next European road trip. The result is the one-off All Terrain concept, which features a suspension lift, 18-inch rims with chunky Yokohama Tires, a wider track, a body kit, and more. The result is an off-road-focused crossover that looks like it would eat the Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness for lunch.

Cupra is Volkswagen Group’s performance sub-brand aimed at producing sportier hatchbacks and crossovers. The Formentor is the brand’s first wholly original vehicle, although it is based on the Volkswagen MQB platform along with the likes of the Volkswagen Golf. The crossover features many of the Golf’s powertrains, along with some PHEV variants, and even offers a variant with a truly potent 385-horsepower 2.5-liter turbocharged motor borrowed from the Audi RS3.

A Lift Can Do Wonders

So far, all the Formentor’s variants have been street ones, which is why JE Design saw the opportunity to take the crossover in a new direction. In addition to the wheels and lift, the vehicle features screw-on custom wheel arch extensions to give it a more rugged appearance, pairing nicely with the wheels and tires that also feature spacers for added track width. You might not conquer Hell’s Gate like a Bronco can, but you should be able to get to your camping site without too much fuss.

An LED light strip was added to the roof along with a roof rack complete with All Terrain nameplate, Jerry can, and extra tire. A two-piece rear spoiler and diffuser were added to the rear, though access to the tow hook is still possible with slight modifications. Four new exhaust tailpipes then let you know this model means business, hopefully hiding a potent powertrain underneath. The final touch is the “JE-Purple” which has been added to many accent points to help the vehicle pop visually.

Why Are We Even Talking About Cupra?

Fair point, but there’s actually a much better reason than simply dreaming about another vehicle we can’t get here in the US. Since the Formentor is the brand’s first home-grown product, it gives us insight into the types of models we can expect the brand to bring here when it finally enters the US market during the latter half of the decade. This news was only recently announced when the Spanish automaker held its annual press conference. CEO Wayne Griffiths said the brand plans on releasing a BEV of the Formentor and a larger electric crossover/SUV. Distribution still needs to be figured out, but the models will be built in North America.

Related

Volkswagen’s Sexy Cupra Performance Brand Is Coming To America

Formerly the performance arm of Seat, the standalone Cupra performance brand is coming by the end of the decade.

As the Formentor is an attractive crossover option, we’re excited, but don’t hold out hope we’ll receive the vehicle’s current slate of exciting turbocharged engines. By the time the brand finally makes its way here, all of these powertrains will be at the end of their lives, and we’ll be getting EVs produced right here in the US of A, including an electric Formentor.