CUPRA's Metaverse takes one step further

CUPRA, the performance vehicle brand of SEAT, has launched its new sports showcar, the CUPRA DarkRebel, together with a sensory and immersive experience developed by the experiential innovation agency Wildbytes. Users can access a car configurator called Hyper Configurator, where they will have the opportunity to create their own versions and experiment with different colours, materials and finishes, without the physical limitations of the material world.

The tool represents one of the biggest bets by Cupra on the automotive industry in the metaverse, with the ambition of marking a before and after in car design. It allows users to interact in different virtual environments, experiencing everything from reality to imagination. What makes this immersion a unique and different experience is the degree to which the car model and its environment vary depending on the modifications the user chooses to make. The Hyper Configurator uses advanced video game creation technologies, such as Unreal Engine, runs through the cloud and is played on devices via streaming. Users can influence the final design of the physical model through their designs and modifications of the car that will be presented in the near future.

The experience has been designed across three different environments: the first inspired by natural elements such as minerals and stones, the second in the digital aesthetic of neon, and the last, a dreamlike space without limits. Generation Z and Millennials are the age groups that dominate 90% of online conversations about the metaverse; 40% played an online game with real-life friends and 22% watched a live game broadcast (Twitch, YouTube, gaming…), according to reports. The Hyper Configurator seeks to intensify the user experience, boost creativity, spark imagination and amplify the senses.

As Paula Donat, Art Director at Wildbytes, points out, “With this project we have taken Unreal’s capabilities (real-time rendering) to their maximum expression. The final result has a graphic quality very close to cinematic, with the aim of moving away from the classic car configurator and instead offering a more sensory and immersive experience.”

The Metahype is a universe in the digital world where the CUPRA community can gather to live a wide variety of individual experiences or alongside other users, from product presentations to dance games. Wildbytes has developed two key experiences framed within the proprietary metaverse that CUPRA is developing: the Metahype: Dancing Experience, an immersive dance game where users can design their own custom avatars to test their best dance moves and compete with the other inhabitants of the Metahype, and Hyper Configurator.

The company has positioned the Metahype as one of the most important international bets in the automotive world within the metaverse. With the Metahype, CUPRA seeks to expand its car design into the intangible, intensifying the user experience. The Metahype is a universe in which technology, design and experience come together to offer new ways of connecting with customers.

Metahype image gallery