- Alpine’s A390 has been snapped by spy photographers in the snow.
- The electric crossover was previewed by the A390_β concept last fall.
- Images show a taller body, but a very similar window line and nose.
Alpine’s front-of-house staff is currently celebrating the A290’s win (along with its Renault 5 brother) in the Car Of The Year competition, but the backroom team is hard at work preparing the next Alpine product, the A390.
Our spy photographers have snapped the electric crossover testing, and although this isn’t the first time we’ve seen an A390 prototype being put through its paces, it is the first time we’ve seen one since Alpine unveiled the A390_β concept last fall.
Related: We Turn Alpine’s A390_β Concept Into A BMW i4-Fighting Sports Sedan
This gives us a perfect opportunity to compare fact and fiction, taking the design details from the concept and the proportions of the prototype and coming a step closer to understanding what the production EV will look like when it debuts later this year.
In terms of overall shape, this test car isn’t a million miles off the concept revealed at the Paris Motor Show. It has the same curved roofline – inspired by the one on the original A110 and its modern-day successor – a similar side window shape and the rear panels are also close, giving both A390s a lean, chiseled look.
And though the charging port flap on the passenger wing and the way the disguise panel is arranged below the windshield appear to show that the production car won’t have the concept’s clamshell hood, there are indications that the full-width light bar and triangular light shapes will make the cut, although the triangles have morphed from DRLs into full headlights.
Naturally, the concept’s wafer-thin door mirrors have been swapped for huge plastic jobs capable of satisfying European safety regulators, but that’s not the only change we see along the flanks. Unlike the β model, the real car has a boring old B-pillar, and judging from the fact that the rear door handle appears to be in the C-pillar, the A390 won’t get rear suicide doors and might not even get frameless door glass.
Perhaps the most striking difference, though, is the depth of the rear bodywork. On the concept the rear wheel arches cut deep into the quarter panel, making the design look light and athletic. But the prototype has far more metal between the top of the arch and the base of the C-pillar and looks more stodgy as a result.
Alpine claims, however, that the A390 will be anything other than stodgy to drive. A tri-motor setup with two motors at the back will give torque vectoring capability and allegedly make the crossover feel like a much lighter car.
Based on the time gap between Alpine revealing the A290_β concept and the real A290 hot hatch, we’re expecting the A390 to turn up in the second half of 2025 and be on sale in Europe before the end of the year or early 2026. Alpine is coming to the US, but the A390 won’t be part of its lineup there.
