Alpine supercar and ‘extreme’ special editions on the cards in bold brand building plan
Alpine is eyeing a production supercar as a halo model to crown its expanding range, but we might see more Ultime extreme special editions first
Alpine dropped jaws across the automotive world when it pulled the covers off the stunning Alpenglow hypercar concept car at the 2022 Paris Motor Show. It then followed up the show car in 2024 with the fully operational, hydrogen-powered Alpenglow Hy4. At that point, you could be forgiven for expecting that a production Alpine supercar was just around the corner.
In fact, a supercar or hypercar remains very much on the wishlist of Alpine CEO, Philippe Krief. The ex-Ferrari engineer has worked on models including the Ferrari 458 Speciale that ushered out the mid-mounted V8, and the 296 GTB, which ushered in V6 plug-in hybrid tech, and he believes in the value of a halo model - if it’s done right.
“The purpose of a supercar is to build awareness for a brand, explore new technologies that can feed back into the brand and make some money," he told Auto Express at the launch of Alpine’s A390 coupe-SUV in southern Spain.
“If you ask me if we could build a supercar with our small team, I would probably say yes. If you asked me if it would make money, probably not.
“Technically we could do a supercar relatively quickly but we’re not ready as an organisation,” he added. ” We will use Alpenglow for communications, as a laboratory of innovation and technology, but before the last step we really need to grow as a brand… to ensure that we can deliver the kind of customer experience that supercar buyers are used to”
The Alpenglow may eventually have a big influence on an Alpine supercar, but before that it will certainly affect how future mainstream Alpine models look. The forthcoming electric A110 and A310 coupe and convertible will borrow from the concept’s design, particularly around the front end where the V-shaped nose and intricate lighting treatments have already been referenced on the A390.
The modular and lightweight Alpine Performance Platform (APP) will underpin the brand’s future sports cars but it has the flexibility to be used for larger and wider models. While Alpine’s immediate future is very much focused on electric power, APP is also capable of supporting hybrid powertrains and Krief has history working on a hybrid supercar, in the shape of the Ferrari 296 GTB.
Back in May 2025, Krief indicated to Auto Express his preference for V6 hybrid power in the brand's supercar project: “[The halo car] won’t be a pure EV,” he explained at the original unveiling of the A390. “It will be a hybrid with a V6 engine. It will not be a plug-in, but it will be hybrid because we need more power.”
He also told our sister title, evo, that while a full-on 296 rival might be a step too far, he would like to look to Ferrari’s past for inspiration: “My dream is rather a modern Alpine interpretation of the Dino. A light, not-so-powerful car. Why? Because it’s exactly the DNA of Alpine.”
Extreme special editions
There are a lot of options and Krief is at pains to point out that no firm decisions have been taken beyond the busy four-year cycle of product launches that Alpine has mapped out.
What he would certainly like to do is to “use the APP platform to do extreme things”: special, limited-edition models that are not just design exercises, but bring real additional engineering value for customers. Such cars would be on the template of the Ultime version of the current Alpine A110 R, which was launched in 2024 with a £267,000 price tag that placed it in the supercar league financially.
“It’s not a market of 100,000 cars, but it could sell more of our other models,” said Krief. “A halo model for Alpine is a model for the whole organisation. We want it to bring new technology, innovation, a completely new customer experience - at least for us. And also, raise all the Alpine team up in terms of execution and excellence.”
Finally, in another glance back to his past at Maranello, he said: “Last but not least, maybe the most important thing, we want to make a business out of it. I've seen how this is possible when it is done to the highest level, and know that it is possible to make profits from these cars as well as use them to market a brand. But the timing must be right.”
Click here for our list of today's top 10 best hypercars...
Find a car with the experts
