New Alpine A290 electric hot hatch will be revealed at 24 Hours of Le Mans 2024
Alpine is broadening its range with a new Renault 5-based model
The new Alpine A290 will make its world debut on 13 June 2024, and the venue for the all-electric hot hatch’s reveal will be none other than the 24 Hours of Le Mans – the legendary endurance race that Alpine will be competing in this year.
It may be a fledgling segment, but there are now a couple of all-electric hot hatches that the Alpine A290 will butt heads with when it does go on sale, including the Abarth 500e, MG4 XPower and Volkswagen ID.3 GTX, plus the electric MINI Cooper JCW we know is in the works.
The A290 is closely related to the recently revealed Renault 5 E-Tech, and uses the same AmpR Small platform, but has been developed separately and will offer a sportier flavour. Some of the changes for the A290 include unique front suspension, more power and different brakes.
The latest pictures from Alpine also reveal some more of the car’s production-ready exterior design. What is immediately obvious with this Alpine A290 test car is that it’ll keep the same body shell as the upcoming Renault 5.
The headlights are broadly the same as the Renault’s, although the brace of fog lights with an ‘X’ emblem have been carried over from Alpine's A290_ß concept. There are also larger, more aggressive side air intakes on the front bumper and the intricate wheel designs are reminiscent of those on the concept car.
Around to the rear there’s a roof spoiler and while we can’t see the rear lights thanks to some inconveniently placed snow, we expect some design tweaks over the Renault 5’s units. The front will receive a revised bumper and to the rear there's a larger diffuser. Alpine has previously said the concept’s bodywork is close to production, so it should certainly stand out in the electric hot hatch sector.
Alpine has given a glimpse of the interior as well. Inside, there’s an exclusive, flat-bottom steering wheel with a blue knob for the battery recharge rate, a red ‘OV’ button (for Overtake) which will up power for a short period of time and a drive mode selector.
Like the R5, the A290 will use a single electric motor to drive its front wheels, but will benefit from torque-vectoring technology and should also have a slightly wider track for greater cornering stability.
More technical specifications have yet to be announced but the A290 should get the same 52kWh battery offered in the Renault 5. Range will most likely decrease from that car’s 248-mile maximum thanks to the Alpine’s focus on driving performance, however.
Given the Renault 5 is expected to start from around the £30,000 mark here in the UK, the sportier Alpine will easily exceed this, possibly sitting closer to £40,000 when it launches later in the year.
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