The new Alpine A290 Beta previews an exciting electric hot hatch set to go on sale in 2024. Based on the new Renault 5 EV, the Alpine A290 will be a more practical alternative to the desirable Alpine A110 sports car.
Making its international debut in, er, an aircraft hangar in Bristol, the Alpine A290 Beta has apparently been "designed to trigger every driver’s competitive spirit and recast the notion of sports cars." That means it's intended to appeal to traditional petrolheads - as evidenced by its dynamic reveal, driven by Alpine's Formula One drivers, Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly.
While it bears a clear resemblance to the Renault 5, the Alpine A290 is an angry-looking little car, with aggressive air intakes and overt battery fans (designed to look like those used on a gaming PC). Its windscreen, meanwhile, stretches over the bonnet - giving a clear view of the Alpine A290's rather unusual interior...
New Alpine A290: exterior and interior
There are a few features of the Alpine A290 Beta which evidently won't make production when the A290 goes on sale next year. One of which is the interesting seating arrangement - there's a central front driver's seat, flanked by two rear passenger seats. The idea is that the driver will be at one with the car, while the passengers will feel like co-drivers. Imagine how awkward it'd make a McDonald's drive thru, though.
The minimalist cabin draws on Alpine's F1 know-how, with carbon bucket seats, harnesses and a racing steering wheel fitted to the show car. The brand does admit that the interior is more conceptual than the exterior - the actual Alpine A290 is likely to look very different inside when it arrives in production form.
In terms of exterior dimensions, the Alpine A290 Beta measures 4.05 metres long, 1.85 metres wide and 1.48 metres high. That makes it a proper B-segment hatchback - similar in size to a Ford Fiesta.
New Alpine A290 price and release date
The brand hasn't so much as speculated on Alpine A290 prices. We reckon the performance tweaks will make it quite significantly more expensive than the Renault 5, which itself could be as cheap as £20,000.
A new Cupra Born is around £36,500 while the MINI Electric currently starts from around £32,500 - so you'd expect it to start with a '3' if it's to stand a chance against rivals. That'll make it quite a bit cheaper than the Alpine A110, which starts from more than £50,000.
New Alpine A290: engines and gearboxes
Each front wheel on the Alpine A290 Beta is powered by its own electric motor, with torque vectoring tech ensuring the show car feels "pleasantly playful at low and medium speeds." If there's one message we'd take away from the electric hot hatch's pacy reveal, it's that the Alpine A290 will be a lot of fun to drive.
Actual technical details are yet to be confirmed. Besides, the actual configuration of the production A290 is likely to be quite different to the Beta model - expect it to feature a similar single-motor setup as the Renault Megane E-Tech and Nissan Ariya. Upwards of 200PS is almost a given, although Alpine is keen to emphasise that it's chasing engaging handling rather than impressive 0-62mph acceleration figures.
Find a used Alpine for sale
Can't wait for the new Alpine A290? You can get your French thrills with a used Alpine A110 sports car today. The Porsche Cayman rival is priced upwards of £50,000 when new - strong demand means used prices are strong, but a little over £40,000 will get you an early example from 2018.
Looking for more new car news?
The new car news never stops at heycar. The new Volkswagen ID.7 is a desirable electric saloon car, while the Kia EV9 is a flagship electric SUV. There's also a handful of new electric Fords, including the new Ford E-Transit Courier and the Ford Explorer SUV.
The decision to call the car A290 Beta is based on Alpine's global naming strategy. The names start with the letter A, followed by three numbers (like the Alpine A110). The number 2 stands for the B-segment and the 90 stands for the brand’s future Lifestyle range. The Greek letter beta indicates it's a concept car rather than the production-ready model.
While the Alpine A290 Beta is a concept car, the brand says its 85% true to the production car which will go on sale in 2024.
Technical details (including the electric range) of the new Alpine A290 are yet to be confirmed. We'd expect it to have a battery of around 52kWh in size and a range of more than 200 miles.
Introducing the Alpine A290_β
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