Alpine A290 officially previewed for first time

Early spy pics suggested production A290 might be a bit lacklustre; a new disguise re-injects some dynamism

When we first saw the A290 back in Paris last year, the so-called ‘beta’ concept damn near knocked our socks off. Here, at last, was an electric ‘hot hatch’ which managed to look progressive and aspirational and, yes, sexy, all at the same time. Alpine said all the right things, too. Making the car handle properly was its top priority. Its second was making it look the part. Sorted, we thought.

But then some early spy pics of the production model testing suggested that some air had been let out of its conceptual balloon. Obviously, the transition to five doors (from three on the beta) was always going to mean taking some of the edge off, but its earlier camouflage (or possibly pre-prod bodywork) was so successful that we began to wonder if the compromises required for manufacturing had taken a ruinous toll on the model’s styling.

Seemingly alive to the shortfall in spunkiness, Alpine has now released its own snaps of the prototype testing in the Arctic Circle. Nominally, this is to illustrate that the car is moving smoothly through its final engineering phase and is currently undergoing the usual cold weather hoopla in Sweden. But it’s also about showing off the ‘brand-new Alpine camouflage’, which is notable for deliberately accentuating a number of elements the manufacturer wants us to pay attention to.

Primary amongst them are the deeper sills and the flared wheel arches: these will likely be crucial to discerning the A290 from its Renault 5 sister, which is why Alpine is keen for them to standout even now. Ditto the four-headlight arrangement upfront, which it considers a key brand identifier, and the ‘A-Arrow’ logo on the roof. The firm says this is the ‘definitive bodywork’ and confirmed that the final version will be 3,990mm long (with a 2,530mm wheelbase) 1,820mm wide and 1,520mm tall.

Alpine isn’t ready to show us the A290’s interior yet, although it did reveal the ‘exclusive’ sport steering wheel in Nappa leather, and highlight three functions it claims have been borrowed from the F1 cars: specifically, OV (for Overtake), RCH (Recharge) and Drive modes with one-touch access. Additionally, the release said that while testing in Sweden had focused on the winter-specific Michelin Pilot Alpin 5 tyre, the retail model would be offered with either the Pilot Sport EV (optimised for efficiency) or the performance-orientated Pilot Sport 5S.

"Our A290, the future compact B-segment electric sports car is currently being tested in the extreme and demanding conditions of Sweden's Lapland. The target of this important stage is to confirm the direction we have taken with handling and agility, which is part of our DNA on low grip conditions,” noted Philippe Krief, Alpine’s CEO. “Our engineering team has scrutinised all the criteria, and the results bode extremely well for its launch in the coming months.”