Alpine A390 Beta concept reveals sleek new electric crossover
Alpine has shared images of its A390 Beta concept car ahead of the production vehicle’s arrival in 2025.
Described by CEO Philippe Krief as ‘an A110 with five seats’, the sporty crossover is expected to compete with the Porsche Macan, Polestar 4 and Audi SQ6 e-tron in the premium SUV segment.
The A390 is second car in Alpine’s three-vehicle ‘dream garage’ and will sit alongside the Renault 5-based A290 hot hatch and an all-electric A110 two-seat sports car.
The name indicates the car’s positioning in the range – The 3 refers to the size of the vehicle, and the 90 to the brand’s multi-purpose, everyday vehicles. However, Alpine says that the A390 is a road car designed for daily use but capable of transforming itself into a ‘racing beast’ like the A110.
The car is based on a heavily modified version of the Renault group’s AmpR Medium platform, which already features in the Renault Scenic and Nissan Ariya. Unlike those single-motor models, the A390 features three motors – one at the front and two at the rear – developed in-house by Alpine. The system will allow for non-permanent all-wheel-drive, balancing performance for sporty driving with economy for gentle cruising. It will also feature active torque vectoring to help provide the sharp handling Alpine is aiming for.
Sovany Ang, vice president of Alpine product performance, said: “The A390 Beta foreshadows our future sport fastback that will enrich the Alpine range by ushering in the era of electric driving pleasure for car enthusiasts looking for the sportiness of an A110 and the perfect balance between distinction, performance and everyday use.”
Alpine says that the show car’s design is 85% true to the final production vehicle, including the snowflake-style 22- and 23-inch alloy wheels which light up blue when the car’s torque vectoring system is operating.
The design is inspired by the mountains of the Alps and brings a soft flowing look intended to remind viewers of water droplets, but offset with angular crystalline details reminiscent of ice. The overall shape and sharp front end with micro perforations and motorsport-style splitter is likely to remain largely unchanged, including the central ‘air bridge’ that aids airflow over the bonnet.
Unlike the exterior, the interior is still far more of a concept, designed to show off the car’s mountainous inspiration and Alpine’s pursuit of new technology.
The seats, which look like some sort of high-tech torture device and which flick between a relaxed everyday driving position and focused F1-style one, will not make production. Nor will the F1-style steering yoke into which an ‘ice crystal’ key is inserted to start the car. More likely to survive to production is the OV overtake button, which functions like the boost button in Alpine’s Formula E car and numerous roadgoing rivals. Whether the pure white memory foam rear seats – inspired by fresh snow – make it into the final car remains to be seen.
