We’ve seen a concept, we’ve seen a disguised pre-production prototype, and we’ve seen the production car it’s based on. Now, finally, we’ve got a date for the unveiling of the Alpine A290, the second model set to arrive from the resurrected Alpine brand: 13 June.
That date is no coincidence, with the reveal set to take place at Le Mans, two days before this year’s running of the 24-hour endurance race starts.
Alpine A290 – front
Renault brought back Alpine in 2017, and since then it’s been building the fantastic but rare A110 sports car and has lent its name to a sporty-looking trim level on various Renaults.
It has big ambitions, however, to go forward as a sporty EV spin-off with a full range of models, some standalone and others performance versions of the Renault range. The A290 is the first stage of that plan and is a hot version of the new retro-tastic electric Renault 5.
Alpine A290 – rear
We saw the A290 previewed last year with the A290_β concept (that’s Beta, if you’re not quite up to scratch on your Greek alphabet). That took 2021’s Renault 5 concept and gave it a sporty makeover, amping it up with big wheels, spoilers, and a widened body that’s more than a little reminiscent of the mid-engined Renault 5 Turbo of the ’80s.
Then, a couple of months ago, we got some images of a production-ready prototype A290 cold-weather testing in Lapland, which gave us a good idea of what the finished article would look like. Unsurprisingly, the production car isn’t as pumped up and wide as the concept, and even less surprisingly, it doesn’t carry over its McLaren F1-style central driving position. It does, however, keep some of the concept’s retro touches, like the ‘X’ motifs in the headlights and chunky four-spoke alloys.
Alpine A290 – interior
A fleeting glimpse at its steering wheel showed a drive mode selector and an ‘OV’ button – this is an F1-inspired ‘overtake’ function, which presumably injects the A290 with a short burst of extra power, much like a similar feature on the Porsche Taycan.
Now, with the production-ready 5 out in public, we finally have a date and location for the production A290’s reveal: 13 June, ahead of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where Alpine will be contesting the top class with its new A424 racer. It’s looking like one of the most appealing entries in the burgeoning EV hot hatch class, and if Alpine can sprinkle it with even a little of the A110’s handling magic, it could be onto a winner.