The Spanish brand Cupra, owned by the German concern Volkswgen, presented the VZ sports version of the compact electric hatchback Born. Born VZ will enter the European market in the third quarter of this year.
In 2018, by a strong-willed decision of the VW management, the sports sub-brand Cupra broke away from Seat and became a new full-fledged brand within the German concern. Six years have passed, but the Seat and Cupra model ranges are still not completely separated, they contain models of the same name (Leon, Ateca), the differences between the two brands are still not obvious. Initially, it was assumed that exclusively sports models would be offered under the Cupra brand, but then Cupra was repurposed as a youth brand, today its range consists of not only sports models, so for sports ones a new identification was needed – the letters VZ, behind them lies the Spanish word veloz, which translated into Russian as “fast”.
The Cupra Born is known to be a clone of the Volkswagen ID.3, both models for the European market are produced at the VW plant in Zwickau (Germany). Volkswagen has long been promising a sports version of the ID.3, but the Cupra Born was the first to receive such a version.
Previously, the top version of the Born was the 77 e-boost with a single electric motor on the rear axle producing a maximum of 170 kW (231 hp) and 310 Nm. The Born 77 e-boost reaches the first “hundred” in 7 seconds, the maximum speed is electronically limited to 160 km/h, a full charge of the battery with a useful capacity of 77 kWh is enough for 548 km in the WLTP cycle.
Now the oldest in the range will be Born VZ, whose electric motor output has been increased to 240 kW (326 hp) and 575 Nm, and the useful battery capacity is up to 79 kWh. Born VZ accelerates to 100 km/h in 5.7 seconds, the maximum speed ceiling is raised to 200 km/h, and the range on one charge is 570 km in the WLTP cycle.
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Born VZ, in addition, received a retuned adaptive suspension DCC: the characteristics of springs, shock absorbers and stabilizers were changed lateral stability, sharper steering, stronger rear brakes.
The body of the Born VZ is standard; the distinctive features of the new top version, in addition to the VZ nameplate on the rear, include unique 20-inch wheels with voluminous copper inserts, shod with wider tires of size 215/45 R 20 than other versions.
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The Born VZ interior features front bucket seats exclusive to this version with developed lateral support and combined eco-friendly upholstery. The front panel received a larger 12.9-inch multimedia screen than other versions. Paddle shifters allow you to instantly adjust the regenerative power of the electric motor. A high-end 425-watt Sennheiser audio system with ten loudspeakers is offered as an option.
The price of the Cupra Born VZ has not yet been announced, for reference we will say that the Born 77 e-boost now costs in Germany from 47,250 euro.
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We add that last year, according to the analytical agency JATO Dynamics, the Cupra brand sold 199,985 cars in Europe (+41% compared to sales in 2022), Seat sales amounted to 245,545 vehicles (+21%). The future of Seat, despite the growth in sales, still remains vague; VW management is looking for a new role for this brand so that Seat and Cupra stop competing with each other.
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