New Alpine A390_β Coming Soon: Specs, price and release info

With the Paris motor show pending national pride dictates the French manufacturers are the ones making the most noise, Alpine joining the clamour with this sleek looking, all-electric A390 crossover. The ‘beta’ squiggle in the name reflects its status as a concept for now, but we’re promised something like this will be joining the range soon.
• The existing petrol-powered A110 sports car celebrates Alpine’s history and also provides inspiration for its new range of electric cars, including the Renault 5 based A290, a production version of this A390 and then an electric A110 successor • For now this is a show car, with more emphasis on novelties like the snow and ice-inspired design touches • We’ll have to wait and see, but Alpine is saying the production A390 will be based on similar foundations to the existing Megane E-Tech 100% Electric and Scenic • We’ll have to wait and see when it comes to on-sale dates and pricing – check in with us at the next Paris show!

We’re still at the motor show concept stage here, so that means design unshackled by the need to comply with the crash regulations and other creativity stifling realities that come with building a production car. Some automotive blue-sky thinking, if you will. Or, in this case, Bleu Specular thinking via metal flakes in the paint that actually shimmer as the car moves while the shape itself combines raised crossover stance with a roofline clearly inspired by the A110 sports car. The intention is to create the second of three ‘Dream Garage’ Alpines sitting between the A290 hot hatch and future electric reinvention of the A110 sports car. By that logic the A390 is the more family-friendly and practical one, all things relative.

Taking the inspiration of the Alpine brand name and running with it, the A390 wants occupants to feel as if they are enjoying “an immediate immersion in the Alps” with a snow-themed interior of gleaming white upholstery and ice crystal inspired trim elements. Even the ‘key’ is a crystal slotting in to complete the Alpine logo like some sort of puzzle piece while the one-piece rear seat is inspired by the idea of sitting in a “snowy cocoon”. Just not as chilly, one hopes. In another neat feature and a nod to Alpine’s sporting traditions in F1 and rallying the front seats can alter their position between a conventional upright one for road driving and a reclined setting like that of a racing car, the passenger getting their own instrument displays for elevated ‘co-driver’ status.

We’ll have to see on this but, back in the real world, Alpine says the production A390 will be based on the same foundations and battery tech as existing electric models from within the wider group of which it is a part, including models like the Renault Scenic and Nissan Ariya. Given Alpine’s sporty standing you’d expect performance to be improved, there being a suggestion the A390 would use its own three-motor set up with a power unit at the front and one for each rear wheel to improve control.

We’ll have to wait and see on this, but we’d speculate any production Alpine A390 would be up against sporty electric crossovers like the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N or Porsche Macan and priced accordingly.

With the Renault 5 now out eyes will be turning to the Alpine A290 version already announced. Beyond that, and after the A390 makes production, we’re told there will be a new and all electric A110 sports car to follow.

While the focus is – rightly – on a new generation of more affordable and smaller electric cars the industry hasn’t entirely lost its appetite for speed and glamour. As such we’d see this Alpine as a rival to models like the Polestar 4, and perhaps any future Lotus electric crossover slotting in beneath the existing Eletre.