France has a history of building some of the most widely revered hot hatches in the world, and it doesn’t look like the electric car era is going to change that. This is the spiritual successor to the Renault Clio Sport - the Alpine A290.
Technically for now it’s the A290 Beta, for a reason we’ll get to in a moment, but it’s an electric car that Alpine will put on sale in 2024, albeit looking only a little less intense than this.
The Alpine A290 Beta, or as the brand is stylising it, the A290_β, takes its name for three different reasons referenced within it. The car follows the brand’s naming structure of an A followed by a three-digit number.
The ‘2’ represents the B-segment - which constitutes compact city cars in Europe - and the ‘90’ is said to represent Alpine’s “future Lifestyle range”. The Greek letter beta is an indication that, for now, the A290 is a precursor model to the production vehicle’s official launch in 2024.
Inside, the brand went somewhat off-piste with the interior, however, as it isn’t ready to attempt a version of the production interior. Instead, the brand created a central-seated racing interior, with everything in the car functional.
Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi says the A290 has “rewritten the playbook for electric hot hatches”.
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.jpg "This is the spiritual successor to the Renault Clio Sport - the Alpine A290.")
This is the spiritual successor to the Renault Clio Sport - the Alpine A290.
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.jpg "Alpine has created a central-seated racing interior in the A290 Beta.")
Alpine has created a central-seated racing interior in the A290 Beta.
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.jpg "It is expected that the A290 Beta will be significantly more expensive than similarly sized models from rivals.")
It is expected that the A290 Beta will be significantly more expensive than similarly sized models from rivals.
“The A290 Beta is the first stage in Alpine’s new era, the first step towards the all-electric Dream Garage in 2024,” said Rossi.
While further information about the A290 is mostly speculation, Alpine’s Vice President for Engineering Robert Bonetto confirmed to Autocar there will be two variants, one set to use the motor from the Renault Megane E-Tech, and another more powerful motor specifically designed for the A290 by Renault/Alpine.
It’s expected the A290 will feature a battery roughly the same size as that of the Renault Zoe, 52kWh, and will be significantly more expensive than similarly sized models from rivals, such as the Cupra Born or the Fiat Abarth 500e.
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