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Following last night’s leaks, Alpine has fully unveiled the A290_β (Beta) electric hot hatch concept car – though the French performance car maker was not forthcoming on power, weight, driving range, or an expected release date.
The A290 made its appearance on a Go Kart-like course at the hands of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly – the brand’s Formula One stars. As you’d expect from any Gallic racer, deft left-foot braking and hydraulic handbrake actuation sent the A290’s rear end sliding around the tight and technical corners.
“This car is critical for our brand”, said CEO of Alpine, Laurent Rossi. “What it symbolises, what it emphasises, are the core principles of Alpine. Even though it’s not a pure sporting car – it’s the modern interpretation of the hot hatch if you will – it’s our urban racer,” he continued.
With X-shaped DRL lights at the front evoking Alpine’s rally heritage, the A290 sits low and squat. Measuring just 4050mm long and 1480mm tall, its 1850mm width gives it plenty of presence as do carbon-look arch extensions.
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Click any image for the full A290 concept gallery
As for the wheels, well, the jury’s out for now. Interestingly, the functional vehicle is wearing more traditional wheels and Michelin rubber than the static car’s near-slick Michies and three-tone alloys that Alpine says ‘faithfully foreshadow’ the production rims.
Aside from knowing the electric hot hatch will be front-wheel drive only and use the same CMF-BEV platform as the forthcoming Renault 5 small hatch, we know precious little more about the A290 after its unveiling.
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It doesn’t appear to be as lightning-fast as Tesla Model 3 Performance. Instead, its pace looks visually closer to a Cupra Born, we’d wager between 150-200kW from a front electric motor and a 0-100km/h sprint in the six-second range.
The A290 will feature multi-link rear suspension and front-axle torque vectoring (though Alpine was not clear if this meant torque vectoring by braking, a mechanical LSD, or an electromechanical diff – likely the latter) as well as four-piston brake calipers from the A110 sports car.
Alpine describes the A290 show car as “pleasantly playful at low and mediums speeds – again, to add to the driving sensations”, though promises it will be planted at higher velocities.
Three driving modes are on offer: Wet, Dry, and Full, as well as 11 different settings for the ABS.
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No-screen cabin design
Driving enthusiasts rejoice – there are no distracting touchscreens here. Instead, the view from the central driving position is unimpeded, with augmented reality functions projected onto the windscreen for navigation directions and car information.
Above the driver is a small roof-mounted control panel for key functions when driving. The functional concept car features a single carbon-backed bucket seat, an integrated roll cage, and a racing steering wheel – none of which will likely appear in the production version.
Instead, the static prototype has an octagonal steering wheel with a ‘Boost’ button said to up the A290’s outputs for 10 seconds when on a dry track, with a 10-second cool-down period.
The A290 ‘urban racer’ is the first step in Alpine’s new Dream Garage, and as Rossi confirmed, it will be followed by a trio of electric vehicles before 2030 including the GT-X coupe, an electric A110 successor, and a large SUV.
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Our original story, below, continues unchanged
May 9 2023: The bold new Alpine A290_β (Beta) electric hot hatch concept has surfaced online, just hours out from its global debut at around 6am tomorrow.
These two photos of the future-previewing A290_β were published in the European press today, in error, and the offending article has now been removed.
There are no official details available at this time, although Alpine – an arm of Renault – has confirmed it will launch a production version of the "100% electric urban sports car" in 2024.
Ahead of tomorrow morning's reveal, we've embedded the placeholder video that should be showing the full event at around 6:30am. See it below these A290 photos.
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May 1: Alpine A290 teased ahead of May 9 reveal
Renault’s performance division, Alpine, has teased its long-awaited electric take on the hot hatch ahead of a full reveal on 9 May.
The concept, known as the Alpine A290 beta, is effectively an electric successor to the cult classic Renault Sport Clio – Alpine refers to it as a “100 per cent electric urban sports car.”
Although Alpine has only shown silhouettes and details of the A290 beta, its profile cuts a similar shape to the forthcoming 2024 Renault 5 electric car (with which it will share its CMF-B EV platform), though with a jutting front fascia, racy rear wing, and bonnet bulge.
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A teaser silhouette of the forthcoming Alpine A290
Instead of ‘Alpine 5,’ the French performance specialist has chosen 'A290' for its hot hatch. The ‘2’ in the name refers to the vehicle’s size, and the 90 denotes a multi-purpose vehicle. Only pure Alpine sports cars (such as the A110) feature the number ‘10’ in the badge.
While the 5 electric city car will be front-drive and feature a 100kW electric motor, expect more grunt from the Alpine A290. Earlier this year Renault teased an AWD 280kW/700Nm R5 Turbo 3E concept that could point to the first-ever all-paw Alpine product.
It’s more likely, though, that the French hot hatch specialist will stick to tried-and-true front-drive setup for the new Cupra Born rival – potentially using the Megane E-Tech’s 160kW motor or an even more powerful item.
Stay tuned for the full reveal on 9 May.
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This is not the Alpine A290, rather Renault's crazy AWD Turbo 3E concept
February 11: Alpine has confirmed it will launch its own 'derivative of the R5' electric hot hatch
Renault's R5 is due to be launched in 2024 as an affordable electric hatchback, but this is the first confirmation of a hot version from the brand's performance arm Alpine which might launch in 2025.
Speaking with UK publication Auto Express, the company’s executive vice-president for engineering, Gilles le Borgne, confirmed the news. “One of the dream garage will be a derivative of the R5,” le Borgne said.
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Renault 5 EV prototype shown
Going one step further, Borgne added details as to how the model will be motivated, using a version of the front-mounted electric motor in the new Renault Megane E-Tech Electric, albeit with some changes. The Megane E-tech produces 160kW and the new R5 from Alpine should achieve a sub-6.0 second 0-100km/h sprint.
“The final answer is yes," he said when asked if it will use the same motor. "Because we want to do Alpine cars. By shortening the engine [for the regular R5] it has the global installation. We’ll adjust the track because it’ll be a more sporty look on the R5 Alpine.”
Modifications are necessary due to the smaller CMF-BEV platform for the R5, but this will also give it sharp handling and lighter weight by using a 52kWh battery; perfect for a hot hatch.
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The 'dream garage' that Borgne speaks of is a teaser Alpine has given to its new electrified line-up that is due to be on roads from around 2025. There will be this version of the R5 hot hatch, but also a new sports car co-developed with Lotus, and a coupe-style performance SUV.
Borgne also gave further hints to Auto Express on its upcoming EV technology, saying that there will be all-wheel drive used in the SUV with unique torque vectoring, and thus likely a bunch more power than the circa-160kW in the R5.
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