Alpine’s big plan for a super-SUV to rival the Porsche Cayenne

Alpine is in the middle of a significant electric car expansion after launching the A290 hot hatch and the new A390 SUV. Soon to arrive will be five other models, growing the brand’s EV line-up up to seven cars by 2030, and one of those will be a flagship SUV.

Speaking to Auto Express at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, Antony Villain, head of design for Alpine, said, “We need something for the D and E segment”, strongly suggesting a new flagship SUV will be introduced to sit above the recently revealed A390 SUV.

We already know that joining Alpine’s new Renault 5-based A290 and the A390 next year will be an all-electric A110; a convertible variant is coming in 2027, plus a four-seat electric sports car called the A310. One of the final two cars to come before the end of the decade will be a large SUV to fill the void above the A390. It could potentially be badged A590 to align with the brand’s ‘90’ badge for its non-sportscar models.    

The A590 would be either a D or E-segment SUV, as Villain said, giving Alpine a competitor for the likes of the BMW iX, Lotus Eletre and the upcoming Porsche Cayenne EV. While any official teasers remain a long way off, Alpine has said it’ll commit to having a familiar design language throughout its EVs – a set of quad headlights arranged in a ‘V’, a curved rear window, and a rounded side profile. 

While Alpine is aiming to keep its future line-up desirable with the cars’ performance and looks, ergonomics is also an important consideration for the brand. The Alpine A110, partly by virtue of being launched back in 2017, has plenty of physical buttons inside for climate functions and regularly used features – although the newer A290 hot hatch and A390 SUV have deviated from this approach with larger screens. 

Villain pointed out that Alpine drivers “want to focus on driving and you don’t want screens everywhere”. He also added “buttons are important for Alpine” and said that its cars will have “lots of physical buttons”. 

As with any Alpine model, the driving experience – even for a large SUV – will be important. The A390 SUV sits on the Renault Group’s AmpR Medium platform, which has the capacity to underpin cars with up to seven seats, according to Renault. In the A390, there are three electric motors – one at the front and two at the rear – and the 464bhp total combines with active torque vectoring to promote “agility and driving pleasure”. We expect to see similar technology on Alpine’s future EVs, including the A590.

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