Cupra Born, the upcoming all-electric hatchback closely related to the Volkswagen ID.3, undergoes the final stages of winter testing near the Arctic Circle.
The Spanish brand (part of SEAT) intends to officially reveal the car in May. The production is scheduled for the second half of 2021 at the Zwickau plant in Germany alongside the ID.3.
According to Cupra, the Born has successfully completed each of over 1,000 extreme tests, at temperatures as low as -30°C, to optimize performance, dynamism and comfort.
The engineers actually have spent two years testing Born on a 6 km frozen lake test circuit just a few miles from the Arctic Circle.
“This includes durability testing, where nearly 19,000 test miles have been accumulated day and night. The aim is to ensure CUPRA Born delivers the best performance even in the most extreme conditions.
The dynamism of the first fully-electric CUPRA has been a crucial aspect of its development. The Dynamic Chassis Control and the different damper settings are tested on the frozen lake circuit.
The inner part of the test track is more polished, the outer part less so, in order to promote sliding which enables the engineers to perfect the handling characteristics of Born.
CUPRA Born is put to the test on tracks that combine ice and asphalt surfaces in different ways, leading to a variety of grip conditions. The CUPRA team recreates the most challenging conditions and sensors on all four wheels analyse each type of terrain to find the balance that provides the most stable braking.”
We know that the major manufacturers have to ensure that the final product will perform well in low temperatures.
Aside from general driving performance, the manufacturer must double-check the EV-related stuff, like various charging scenarios charging, battery at low temperatures and heating systems. Basically, no area can be left without testing.
In the case of Cupra Born, the car is based on the Volkswagen Group’s Modular Electric Drive Toolkit (MEB), which already is in production. That simplifies it a lot, as the individual components are mostly proven.
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