• Cupra will enter the U.S. later this decade with two SUVs
• New Cupra Terramar provides an indication of what U.S.-bound Cupras might be like
• Cupra Terramar is closely related to the global VW Tiguan

Volkswagen Group’s Cupra used the backdrop of the 2024 America’s Cup underway in Barcelona to present the Terramar compact crossover.

Cupra doesn’t operate in the U.S. but the brand in March said it will launch here later this decade, initially with two vehicles. One will be an electric version of the Formentor compact crossover whose current generation is based on the outgoing global Volkswagen Tiguan. The second will be a larger SUV to be built in North America.

The Terramar is unlikely to make the trip but it provides an indication of what the U.S.-bound Cupras might be like. The vehicle introduces the latest evolution of the brand’s design language, as well as technologies normally reserved for premium vehicles, such as high-definition matrix LED headlights, a head-up display, and Sennheiser audio.

The Terramar is closely related to the latest version of the global Volkswagen Tiguan that debuted late last year. The U.S. will get its own Tiguan using the same platform as those vehicles later this year. The platform is the latest evolution of VW Group’s MQB architecture designed for high-volume vehicles with gas and hybrid powertrains.

Full details for the Terramar haven’t been released but Cupra confirmed multiple gas powertrains, as well as a plug-in hybrid option rated at 268 hp and likely fitted with the same 19.7-kwh battery of the plug-in hybrid version of the global Tiguan.

Production of the Terramar will be handled at fellow VW Group brand Audi’s plant in Györ, Hungary. Deliveries in markets were Cupra operates start late this year.

Cupra started out life as a performance sub-brand of fellow VW Group brand SEAT, but in 2018 it was repostioned as a standalone brand offering a range of sporty, emotional vehicles with striking design. It still offers tuned versions of SEAT vehicles but is slowly introducing more standalone products like the Terramar.