CUPRA is crashing Goodwood for the first time, with the electric Raval leading the charge
Barcelona attitude meets the most famous hillclimb in the world
CUPRA is finally bringing its Barcelona attitude to the Goodwood hill. The brand has confirmed it will make its first-ever appearance at the Festival of Speed this July, putting its new all-electric Raval city car centre stage alongside two still-secret models that will tackle the legendary hillclimb. For a young, design-led brand built on standing out, it is a natural stage.
The Raval takes centre stage
The star of CUPRA's stand is the Raval, the brand's seventh model and its vision for affordable, all-electric urban mobility. It offers a choice of batteries from 37 to 52 kWh and a power range that stretches from 115 hp in the entry Origin trim up to 225 hp in the sporty VZ version, which adds an electronic limited-slip differential and dynamic chassis control. In other words, even CUPRA's smallest EV is being given a proper hot-hatch flagship rather than just being a sensible city runabout.
Two mystery cars on the hill
Alongside the Raval, CUPRA is bringing two new models it has not yet revealed. All three cars, the Raval included, will run up the Goodwood Hill across all four days of the festival, and the brand has promised several big announcements when the event opens. The identities of the two newcomers are being kept firmly under wraps, which is exactly the sort of teasing that makes a Goodwood debut worth watching.
When it happens
The Festival of Speed runs from 9 to 12 July 2026 at Goodwood House in West Sussex, with CUPRA's reveals set to start on the opening Thursday. The brand says it will turn Goodwood into a celebration of its bold, Barcelona-born characters through product reveals, special guests and dynamic demonstrations, leaning hard on its self-styled unconventional, design-led and performance-driven identity.
AutoNext Take
CUPRA has grown up fast, and a first Goodwood appearance feels like a statement of intent rather than a gimmick. The Raval is the genuinely important car here: an affordable, characterful electric hatch with a 225 hp hot version is exactly what the shrinking small-car segment needs, and Goodwood is the perfect place to make people care about it. The two secret models are the tease, but the Raval is the substance. If CUPRA can keep building cars with this much personality at sensible prices, it will keep stealing buyers from far bigger names.
Goodwood 2026 is shaping up nicely: see the electric next-generation Alpine A110, the Gordon Murray T50s honouring Niki Lauda, and the life-size LEGO Koenigsegg that set a Goodwood record.
