- Alpine’s first crossover, the electric A390, has been spotted testing ahead of a launch next year, and weeks before the A390_β concept reveal on October 11.
- The coupe-SUV has four doors, a fastback design and will be pitched as a rival to the Porsche Macan EV.
- A bi-motor drivetrain gives the A390 all-wheel drive traction and is expected to deliver up to 600 hp on top versions.
Alpine is undergoing a dramatic transformation in the hope of becoming Frances’s equivalent to Porsche. And the A390 crossover, spied here in prototype form, is going to be crucial to achieving that success.
A concept version called the A390_β will be the star of Alpine’s stand at the Paris Motor Show on October 11 and has been teased by the automaker, but this is our first look at the real thing out in the wild
Related: Alpine A390_β Electric Crossover Coupe Teased For Paris Motor Show
An electric coupe-SUV with four doors and a sports car-like sloping roofline, the A390 is designed to steal sales from the Porsche Macan EV. But Alpine’s gifted chassis engineers are really going to have to work some magic because the A390 is based on the same platform as the Renault Megane E-Tech and Nissan Ariya. And no one ever got out of an Ariya waxing lyrical about it being some kind of cut-price Macan alternative.
The hottest Ariya is the new Nismo, which makes 429 hp from a bi-motor drivetrain and has a 40:60 front-to-rear torque split for more exciting handling. But while that might be enough for mid-spec A390s, we understand that top-line versions will get around 600 hp (608 PS) and torque vectoring to take the fight to Stuttgart.
This prototype is still wearing some heavy disguise so it’s difficult to get a full picture of what the finished car will look like beyond the flow of the roofline. But we can make out a plunging hood line that will visually connect the A390 and the modern company’s first car, the A110.
It also looks like the doors have flush handles, but disappointingly – don’t appear to have frameless glass – and there’s a hint of the front and rear light bars that were visible in a a teaser photo of the future Alpine lineup released last year.
The A390 is one of seven new all-electric cars Alpine will have on sale before the end of the decade. We’ve already seen the production version of the A290, a hot hatch take on the new Renault 5 EV, but Alpine also has more crossovers and SUVs planned, plus an A110 replacement that will have a roadster option for the first time. And Alpine may crown the range with a production version of the hydrogen-powered Alpenglow hypercar concept.
