It is a street legal version of the Ibiza Mk2 kit car used in the competition, created as a special edition to celebrate SEAT's victory in the 1996 FIA 2-Litre World Rally Cup, a subdivision of the World Rally Championship at that time.

[6] In 2017, then SEAT CEO Luca de Meo hinted at the possibility of Cupra becoming a standalone brand.

Cupra cars were to be sold in some SEAT dealerships in Europe, with dedicated floor space.

According to Mesonero-Romanos, the philosophy of the triangular logo is that a triangle is a dynamic shape, has a stable base, and points in a clear direction.

[15] In March 2020, Cupra introduced the Formentor after being previewed as a near-production concept vehicle at the Geneva International Motor Show in November 2019.

The concept version was called SEAT el-Born, but the Born became a Cupra-only model while remaining closely related to the Volkswagen ID.3.