Cupra Formentor VZ5: Five Cylinders Before the Silence
Before the hum of electric motors takes over completely, Cupra has one last roar left in it. The Formentor VZ5 returns for a final encore—a defiant celebration of combustion, courage, and nostalgia wrapped in copper accents and turbocharged fury.
Cupra calls the new VZ5 an expression of “boldness” and “passion,” but between the lines, it reads like a farewell note. This isn’t a comeback; it’s a curtain call. Beneath the sculpted bonnet lies Audi’s legendary 2.5-liter five-cylinder engine, delivering 390 horsepower and limited to just 4,000 units worldwide—a collector’s piece rather than a stepping stone to the future.
Mechanically, it’s a familiar recipe: quattro-inspired all-wheel drive, a dual-clutch DSG transmission, and an electronic torque splitter that shuffles power between the rear wheels with a precision few drivers will ever fully exploit. Cupra’s design team adds its signature visual punch—angled copper-tipped exhausts, widened arches, and smoked chrome badging that suggest aggression while quietly signaling the brand’s yearning for premium legitimacy.
Inside, the VZ5 feels more mature, less neon-lit youth club, more focused statement. The materials are upscale, the digital cockpit restrained, and the spider-web-pattern CUPBucket seats look dramatic enough to justify their inclusion, even if their purpose is largely aesthetic.
Cupra describes the car as an “emotional peak,” though in truth it’s more of a beautifully engineered epilogue—a reminder of a time when engines had voices and passion smelled faintly of fuel. The five-cylinder TSI stands as the marque’s final mechanical totem before its Martorell plant transitions fully to electric power.
Production begins in early 2026, and while Cupra claims the VZ5 “pushes boundaries,” what it truly signifies is something quieter yet more profound—the moment the boundary between combustion and electrification finally comes within touching distance.
