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The A290’s 2530mmwheelbase and wide track – the whole car measures 3990mmlong and 1820mmacross – make it inherently stable and agile, according to product boss Charlie Biardeau.
He added that A290 uses the same four-piston brakes as the A110, albeit tuned to blend naturally with the regeneration of the production car’s single front motor.
Biardeau explained Alpine is targeting a feeling of “transparency” through the brake pedal, with various strengths of regeneration. These may include a ‘one-pedal’ drive mode, maximising the motor braking so you can drive the car solely on the accelerator pedal – a boon in urban traffic jams.
The A290 will be significantly heavier than the A110 (around 1100kg, depending on specification) due to its battery. Alpine is “finding a new balance for today’s technology”, Biardeau said, adding: “The heritage of Alpine is agility and distinctive ride. It can be through the weight, but it can also be through other features, and EVs also provide you much more torque. It means that [the agility] sometimes isn’t in the figures, but in the feeling you will have – it’s a moving weight.
He added: “Usually, in an ICE hot hatch, you will have all the weight on the front. [Balancing the weight toward the rear] means that when you are braking, the rear is more stable; so you can play in other ways with the suspension and so on.”
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Engineering boss Bonettoconfirmed to Autocar the A290 willoffertwo power outputs: one will be a shortened version of the Renault Mégane E-Tech Electric’s 215bhp motor, while the other – yet to be officially detailed – is expected to be the 268bhp unit developed by Renault, Valeo and Valeo-Siemens, slated to enter production in 2027.
All power outputs are planned to provide “a good level of performance” without feeling “brutal”, said Bonetto.
Only one battery will be offered, with this expected to roughly match the Renault Zoe’s 52kWh capacity and 238-mile official range. The French firm previously announced that its new-generation pack – split into four ‘big modules’ – is more dense than the Zoe unit, and is 15kg lighter as a result.
Inside, the production A290 will look “1%” like the show car, according to interior designer Joshua Reer. The three-seat co*ckpit, which places the driver front and centre, is more-so a statement of intent for future Alpine interiors.
Minimalism is key to this interior, completely omitting touchscreens in favour of traditional button controls mounted to the roof and steering wheel. Critical information – speed and range – is shown on a small head-up display positioned above the steering wheel. “I think the interior has to bring the point home about what it means to sit inside an Alpine,” said Reer.
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He added that the only feature likely to translate to the four-seat production car is the Formula 1-inspired ‘OV’ button, which enables a 10-second power boost. Alpine is yet to detail the scale of this uplift, but Bonetto said “it’s significant, you can really feel it”. Biardeau added that the button has a short cooldown period between bursts, but that this is still being tuned.
The Formula 1 link does not end there, for the Alpine Racing Formula 1 team, based in Enstone, had a role in shaping the A290’s aerodynamics. The gaps positioned underneath the X-shaped headlights – inspired by the tape used on historic rally cars – in the front bumper, and high on the rear quarter panel all channel air across the car’s flanks to reduce drag.
Other styling flourishes include the distinctive blue-flecked carbonfibre bodykit (likely to become plastic on the production model) and the dual faux-exhausts integrated into the rear splitter. However, these are not actually intended to present as exhausts; they are instead meant to resemble the fans used on high-powered gaming computers. According to Villain, this is a private joke between Alpine and Renault head honcho Luca de Meo himself, and feeds into the brand’s ambition to sell cars to the ‘gaming generation’.
The A290 is expected to come at a significant premium over the circa-£25,000 Renault 5, likely being priced up to match its closest rival, the 215bhp version of the new electric Mini Cooper, which costs just under £38,000.
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