New Alpine A290_ꞵ revealed: bonkers electric hot hatch

• New Alpine A290_ꞵ revealed
• One of three forthcoming Alpine EVs
• Futuristic design
• Features two motors on front axle
• Has three-seat interior, like a McLaren F1
• More than 220hp possible in the production version
• Production set to begin in 2024

Alpine has taken the covers off the first car of its new all-electric line-up. The French performance brand has bucked the trend of big EV SUVs and saloons, opting instead to tug on the heartstrings of 90’s hot hatch enthusiasts.

Called the A290_ꞵ, this is just a show car at this point, but this will be the basis of the production car that’s set to arrive in 2024.

New Alpine A290_ꞵ design

The Alpine A290_ꞵ looks a bit like someone took a Renault 5 from the 1980s and asked an AI to make it look like it’s from 2030 and add some rally-inspired bits for good measure. It looks seriously cool, but does have that air of concept car about it.

Despite looking like a stocky pocket rocket, the A290_ꞵ does actually have a lot of aerodynamic jiggery pokery going on. Air inlets in the front bumper help cool the electric drive components on the front axle, and there are intakes under the X-style headlights to help with air flow.

Those X-shaped lights pay homage to old Alpine rally cars, and the windscreen stretches into the bonnet to give the centrally-seated driver a more F1-like view of the road.

Down the side, you get a classic wheel-at-each-corner stance alongside pink and blue strips over the tops of the windows. You also get funky tri-tone 20-inch wheels – have that two-tone fanboys – but the standard car is set to get 19-inch wheels.

Finally the rear. The boxy hot hatch shape is squared off nicely, with slimline rear lights including one down the centre of the windscreen, an F1-style light on the bottom bumper and two faux exhausts. Alpine has said that the production car will look very similar to this mid-life concept, so expect some of the cool features included on the final model.

New Alpine A290_ꞵ interior

With the cabin however, don’t expect to see many of the design features make it into production.

The central driving position will be the first thing to get the chop, which is a shame really. That said, it would make it pretty tiresome to use day to day, with things like drive-throughs being particularly tricky

You get a mostly dark design, with blue and pink highlights around the edges – with the blue looping around to the steering wheel and blinking when you’ve engaged the indicator.

That wheel is not really a wheel at all, more of a steering rectangle. Looks cool, however the final car will have a more conventional round item. You can expect to see more screens on the final car as well, some smartphone integration would be nice.

New Alpine A290_ꞵ motors and performance

This concept car has two electric motors, one on each front wheel. This allows for some serious torque vectoring wizardry, allowing the two front wheels to almost move in opposite directions to slingshot you around corners.

See how the Alpine A110 gets on in a drag race…

This setup isn’t something you’ll see on the production car, that will have a single motor powering the front wheels. It hasn’t been confirmed exactly how much power it will have, however you can make an educated guess.

The Alpine A290_ꞵ will use a tweaked version of a motor already used by Renault, most likely from the Megane E-Tech. Alpine has already shoehorned this motor into a one-off A110 coupe called the E-ternity, with the power upped from 220hp to 240hp. It wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to assume that this unit will find its way into the new A290_ꞵ hot hatch.

The production version is set to be fitted with a Brembo braking system with 4-piston brake calipers – just as you’d find on the outgoing A110 coupe – while the ABS will come with 11 different positions depending on your preference.

New AlpineA290_ꞵ : how much will it cost?

Pricing and full trim information is yet to be revealed for the Alpine A290. The car on which it’s based, the Renault 5, is rumoured to start from around £20,000, so this souped-up Alpine could wear a £30,000 price tag when it goes on sale in 2024.

The snazzy white matte paint will likely feature on the production car as an option, as will the pink and blue detailing – although that’ll probably be up to you to select.

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