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SPAIN – CUPRA LAUNCHES “OWN THE WHEEL”, A TRAVELING EXHIBITION ON THE SENSATION OF DRIVING
Concept Overview
What happens when a steering wheel stops being a technical part and becomes a life statement? What if driving isn’t just moving, but choosing? Cupra expands its brand universe with “Own the Wheel,” an international traveling art exhibition exploring the sensation of driving through seven European artists’ eyes. This marks the automaker’s first foray into art, reinforcing its commitment to talent and creativity.
Creative Execution
Developed with agency Fuego Camina Conmigo in their first collaboration, the project uses the claim “No drivers, no Cupra.” It reinterprets the steering wheel as a symbol of choice and control over one’s path. The initiative aligns with Cupra’s positioning: no driver, no experience.
Brand Message
“Cupra is born from the desire to awaken emotions and make the human experience a unique sensation. With ‘Own the Wheel,’ we put the driver back at the center and highlight their role in an increasingly rational, automated world,” said Ignasi Prieto, Cupra’s Chief Brand Officer. The show invites reflection on self-awareness and living in the present.
Artistic Reinterpretations
Seven unique pieces reinvent the steering wheel as art, created by artists Six Dots, Waiting for Ideas, Billi Thanner, André Romão, Giulia Tavani, Sita Abellán, and Oliver Latta from Spain, France, Austria, Portugal, Italy, and the UK. Curated by Offf Studio (behind Offf Barcelona festival), the works see the wheel as the human-machine contact point and metaphor for conscious living amid automation. Each evokes emotions of deciding, advancing, and experiencing—not just driving a car, but steering one’s life.
Tour Schedule
Launched February 11 at Cupra City Garage in Madrid (open until February 14), it will tour other European City Garages in coming months. The traveling format turns Cupra spaces into dynamic cultural platforms, adapting and amplifying the message across contexts.
Communication Strategy
Supported by an audiovisual campaign—a manifesto video and social media piece—produced by Canadá, it adds cinematic depth to the emotional narrative, centering the driver-machine bond. “This evolves advertising into cultural format, where the brand proposes rather than interrupts, conveying messages through objects, stories, and experiences with intrinsic value,” said Luis Conde, Fuego Camina Conmigo co-founder and strategy director. “It’s about active reflection, vivid and sophisticated.”
With “Own the Wheel,” Cupra brings its strategy to cultural terrain and poses a key question: in an increasingly automated world, who holds the wheel?