Cupra rules out red and yellow paint to protect its design identity
Cupra rules out red and yellow paint to protect its design identity
Cupra rules out red and yellow paint to protect its design identity
Cupra will keep future models away from bright body colours, relying instead on muted tones, matte finishes and surface texture to reinforce its darker, more technical image.
2026-05-01T16:58:02+03:00
2026-05-01T16:58:02+03:00
2026-05-01T16:58:02+03:00
Cupra is deliberately moving away from bright colours. In an interview with Autocar, the brand’s creative director Francesca Sangalli said future Cupra models will not be offered with red or yellow bodywork. The palette will remain centred on white, black, grey, copper, matte finishes and muted shades. This is not about saving money on paint: Cupra is trying to avoid diluting its own image.“You will never find a red Cupra,” Sangalli said.According to her, expanding the range with brighter colours could weaken the brand’s identity, because Cupra would start doing the same thing as everyone else.The new Cupra Raval shows that thinking in practice. The model is set to be offered in white, black, copper, matte grey, matte black, greyish pearl and matte green. It is not a cheerful city-hatchback palette, but a colder and more technical set of colours.Sangalli links this to the brand’s philosophy: Cupra is meant to feel “raw” — rough, unprocessed and focused on design. That is why the company is putting the emphasis not on saturated colour, but on texture: matte coatings, neutral shades with a twist and distinctive surface treatment.“A yellow Cupra does not exist. We will leave that to Ferrari,” she added.For buyers, the message is simple: Cupra is no longer trying to please everyone with a broad colour range. The brand wants its cars to be chosen for their overall image, not for the ability to order the body in any striking colour. That approach may narrow the audience, but it should make the cars more visually recognisable.Cupra will now sell bright emotion not through colour, but through shape, matte surfaces and a sense of dark sportiness.
Cupra will keep future models away from bright body colours, relying instead on muted tones, matte finishes and surface texture to reinforce its darker, more technical image.
Michael Powers, Editor
Cupra is deliberately moving away from bright colours. In an interview with Autocar, the brand’s creative director Francesca Sangalli said future Cupra models will not be offered with red or yellow bodywork. The palette will remain centred on white, black, grey, copper, matte finishes and muted shades. This is not about saving money on paint: Cupra is trying to avoid diluting its own image.
“You will never find a red Cupra,” Sangalli said.
According to her, expanding the range with brighter colours could weaken the brand’s identity, because Cupra would start doing the same thing as everyone else.
The new Cupra Raval shows that thinking in practice. The model is set to be offered in white, black, copper, matte grey, matte black, greyish pearl and matte green. It is not a cheerful city-hatchback palette, but a colder and more technical set of colours.
Sangalli links this to the brand’s philosophy: Cupra is meant to feel “raw” — rough, unprocessed and focused on design. That is why the company is putting the emphasis not on saturated colour, but on texture: matte coatings, neutral shades with a twist and distinctive surface treatment.
“A yellow Cupra does not exist. We will leave that to Ferrari,” she added.
For buyers, the message is simple: Cupra is no longer trying to please everyone with a broad colour range. The brand wants its cars to be chosen for their overall image, not for the ability to order the body in any striking colour. That approach may narrow the audience, but it should make the cars more visually recognisable.
Cupra will now sell bright emotion not through colour, but through shape, matte surfaces and a sense of dark sportiness.
