It’s the VW I.D.’s Spanish cousin.
Spanish marque SEAT have revealed to the world their new el-Born concept car, which provides a peek at how the brand intends to tackle the progression to electric motivation. SEAT says that how combustion engine revolutionised mobility in the early 20th century, electrification will change the game again, and the el-Born will be the first of many zero-emissions products from the marque in the future.
Its appearance at the Geneva motor show is merely in concept form, but as Volkswagen did with all of its I.D. cars, the el-Born concept is a pretty faithful representation of what we can expect to one day park on our driveways. It’s been developed around the predicted tenets of tomorrow’s automotive industry: Electrification, autonomous driving, connectivity, and shared mobility.
“Mobility is evolving and with it, the cars we drive. SEAT is at the forefront of this change, and the el-Born concept embodies the technologies and design philosophy that will help us meet the challenges we face in the future.” – Luca de Meo, President, SEAT
Dense battery packs housed within the MEB platform endow the el-Born with a range of up to 420km on a single charge, and a century sprint time of just 7.5-seconds thanks to the 150kW output. Perhaps more importantly, fast-charging is a feature here, with as little as 47-minutes needed to juice the battery pack to 80% (provided you have a 100kW fast-charger, of course).
The interior is very much a modern affair, with the architecture meant to make the use of the clutter-free electric powertrain. As such, both practicality & functionality have been maximised inside, with smart storage solutions like the enormous front centre tunnel space big enough to hold a bag.
As with any modern concept car, the el-Born touts autonomous capabilities, albeit merely at Level 2. This means braking, acceleration, and steering autonomy in specific situations, as well as automated parking. This we feel is a more realistic bar to set as a precursor to a full production car, as neither R&D nor public perception are quite ready for the mass-deployment of fully-autonomous vehicles.
The MEB-based SEAT el-Born was designed & engineered in Barcelona, but it’ll be built alongside Volkswagen’s I.D. zero-emissions vehicles at the Zwickau plant in Germany. SEAT will be the second brand to benefit from Volkswagen’s bespoke electric architecture, and the el-Born (and its upcoming SEAT-MEB siblings) will bring back significant volume for Volkswagen’s (currently under-utilised) production facilities in their home market.
For the best deals on a new car, check out our Showroom.
