Is the Alpine A290_β the most exciting EV ever?

This version of the upcoming A290 remains a concept for now, but sources within the company predict that 85 per cent of the car on show here will make it onto the production line. The exterior styling is pretty much complete and ready to go, but that striking interior is likely to see some overhauls by the time we see the finished car.

That said, Alpine will have to make some pretty dramatic errors to scupper the hype that now surrounds this car. This is the kind of thing the automotive industry has been waiting for, an electric car to get excited about. Could this be the car that turns the heads of EV sceptics?

Maybe not, indeed there will probably be an outcry that even a sporting brand so pure as Alpine would dare to tarnish its bloodline with electrons. However, the people behind the A290_β are confident that the DNA of Alpine will remain as strong as ever in this new era.

There are no performance figures to speak of yet. Power will come from a modified version of the electric powertrain found in the Renault Megane E-Tech, Alpine says it will have full access to Renault’s EV stockpile, so expect output to be in excess of the 220PS (160kW) found there. That should be pretty potent in a smaller and lighter hot hatch.

Outright power is not the goal here though, as with Alpine’s only other current model on sale, the A110, the focus is on the purity of the drive, cornering prowess and handling perfection. Up to now, the EV narrative has been all about efficiency and the environment, Alpine has yet to pay much heed to that fact and is instead putting an enormous emphasis on carrying forward the sporting philosophy into the future. So much so that Alpine F1 drivers Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon have been involved, in some capacity, in the development of the A290_β.

The buzzword of the A290_β’s launch night was ‘sportiness’. This car is being built to feel every bit as engaging as the A110, delivering an emotional and engaging drive. How we hope that this ambition translates into what will no doubt be an epic result if Alpine succeeds. The team behind this car has been given a clear mandate to do it their way. Rip up any preconceptions of EVs you may have, this one promises to be different.

Quite how different is the prevailing question, one that won’t be answered until we get to drive it. At the most basic level, this will be a four-seater, front-wheel-drive hot hatch of a size similar to a Renault Zoe. It’s an EV, so it’s bound to be heavier than what we’ve come to expect from the likes of the Fiesta ST, but there are characteristics of electric drive that ought to be well married to this type of car.

To look at, it’s absolutely stunning. And that’s perhaps the best news to come out of this launch, because this concept is basically the finished article on the outside, so we are going to be able to drive a car that looks like this within the next couple of years. The flared wheel arches are dramatic and the four headlights at the front carry the Alpine genes, while the aggressive styling around the bonnet and the large spoiler at the back give this a proper hot hatch look.

The interior of this concept is equally dramatic, but this unfortunately will not be carried over to the finished product. The designers at Alpine were given license to run loose of the shackles and came up with something genuinely cool. A three-seater layout with the driver at the front is a concept that we really wish would make it onto the final car, but unfortunately, this looks set to be replaced by a more traditional four-seat set-up.

There are a lot of questions still to ask about the Alpine A290_β, but this, the first of three EVs expected from Alpine over the next few years, is about as good a start as we could have hoped for. The A110 will remain on sale for now alongside the A290 for a little while longer before it too gets replaced by a new EV version, while an electric SUV is also in the works for 2027. Alpine has gone in hot and absolutely nailed it.