Alpine A390_β: the sporty and electric fastback made in France

Alpine only sells one model, the very nice A110 Berlinette, impractical and thermal. The manufacturer has other ambitions than being a single-model brand, and intends to offer a complete range of electric sports vehicles. After the arrival of theA290sporty version of the R5 recently testeda specific model appears.

During the Paris Motor Show, Alpine publicly unveils its A390_β concept car, a fully electric fastback crossover which will enter production in 2025. The French manufacturer has high hopes for this future model, which will have the difficult task of take the brand to a new stage.

It's not an SUV!

Be careful, don't make the same mistake as us, who dare to call this new model a crossover. According to the thinking heads at Alpine, or rather according to the marketing department, it is neither a crossover nor an SUV, but a “sporty fastback”.

Its raised ground clearance and the plastic covering around the wheel arches are enough, for us, to qualify it as an SUV, whether coupe or fastback. Nothing serious, on the contrary, customers are increasingly rushing towards this type of vehicle.

The model still sports a slender silhouette, dynamic proportions as well as frameless windows and a wraparound rear window which give it, it is true, the appearance of a raised coupe.

What matters at Alpine are the driving sensations, and the manufacturer claims that the A390 is designed for everyday use, but can transform into a “racing beast” when the mood takes it. Alpine CEO Philippe Krief even describes it as “a five-seater A110”.

From the A110, the concept takes the character lines of the heavily sculpted profile while it draws its high-tech LED lights with illuminated triangles from the Alpine Alpenglow concept seen in 2022.

The work on aerodynamics has been significant, with, at the front, a micro-perforated grille, side scoops and a “flying bridge” on the hood. The rear is particularly wild and we doubt it will arrive as is on the production model. In fact, we find a shark fin and, above all, active aerodynamic elements on the diffuser which can extend by 8 cm to reduce drag.

The 22-inch front and 23-inch rear rims, transparent and illuminated, will not survive going into production either, let's hope at least. Indeed, although it is only a concept, Alpine claims that 85% of its design will be used on the production model.

The interior seems straight out of a science fiction film with its cockpit that takes on the air of a spaceship while the floor imitates rock formations or the hyper enveloping seats switch between two positions: normal for every day a more elongated for sports desires. We can bet that nothing, or almost nothing, of this interior will see the light of day in production, leaving room for a conventional five-seat configuration and screens taken from the Scenic.

An unknown technical sheet

The only information known is the AmpR Medium platform that will underpin the model. The latter is none other than the ex-CMF EV that we find under the Nissan Ariya and Renault Scenic E-Tech.

However, in order to keep the promise of a five-seater A110, Alpine engineers and developers will significantly overhaul the whole thing, with a four-wheel drive system with rear axle dominance to make the whole thing dynamic. .

On the front axle we will find a single motor while the rear one will have two, allowing finer management in the way in which torque and power are distributed between the wheels. Thus provided, the system promises an Active Torque Vectoring function making the model particularly agile.

As for the power figures, autonomy or even price, nothing has been announced at the moment. However, the model could partially target the Porsche Macan, and therefore offer between 350 and 500 hp for a price slightly under €80,000.