French automaker Alpine is not especially well-known in America, but the small sports car manufacturer is evolving, and part of that evolution includes the introduction of new SUVs and other electric vehicles, several of which will be coming to America. The first is the Alpine A390, which was teased in concept form just two weeks ago, and despite the fact that this design study is yet to be presented in full, CarBuzz spy photographers are already coming across camouflaged development mules of Alpine’s Porsche Macan EV rival.
Alpine
The Alpine car marque was established in 1954 and has become world-famous for its outstanding sports cars and varied racing exploits, many of which were highly successful. Its competition department merged with Renault Sport in 1976, an era during which it was winning rallies for fun (see WRC 1973). In the 1980s, Alpine began producing more luxurious and more powerful coupes. It was also responsible for building the spectacular R5 Turbo hyper hatchbacks, but the Alpine name was abandoned by Renault in 1995. After a brief Alpine partnership with Caterham, Renault reacquired the branding under the stewardship of Carlos Ghosn in the mid-2010s, with the modern A110 arriving in 2017.
The triple-spoke wheel design confirms that this is an Alpine product, and the lower half of the front end gives another clue to the EV’s identity with a grille design that appears to be production-ready. In fact, several elements of the vehicle look finalized, so let’s take a closer look.
There’s A Hint Of Lotus Here
In the middle of the front bumper, we see the main low-beam headlight housings in a triangular shape. The placement of these helps to reduce the visual mass of the front, as does a crease running along the top of the separated daytime running lights. Alpine has fitted additional cladding beneath the vinyl, adding several pronounced bumps to the front hood. A semicircular strip connecting each A-pillar seems to point to a large frunk, but this remains to be seen. Either way, this shape of the front end carries a passing resemblance to another electric SUV, the expensive Lotus Eletre.
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More false cladding can be seen on the front wheel arches, but the wing mirrors seem conventional, and the fact that they’re painted in Alpine’s traditional blue-and-black scheme indicates they’re finished components, like the aforementioned wheels, grille, and lower headlight housings. Even with all this augmentation, it’s clear that Alpine intends to make this fastback crossover look compact, but without hampering comfort; the rear door shutlines reveal that ingress to the second row will be made through a large opening. The recessed central section of the roof also points to decent headroom and plenty of aerodynamic testing.
Predicted Outputs Look Promising
The hidden rear door handles, sharply sloped glasshouse, and an integrated spoiler just below the windshield all help to create an athletic look, while a full-width taillight bar helps make the crossover look a little shorter. A large diffuser panel will help achieve the same effect. We’ll have to wait for prototypes to shed some camouflage or for the concept’s unveiling in Paris to learn more about the nuances of the A390’s styling, but hopefully, this won’t be lost in a sea of similar SUVs, and Alpine will do enough to make this stand out. It’ll also need to be capable in the corners if it is to convince American buyers that an electric SUV from an unfamiliar marque is worth sampling. As a new brand, Alpine will need to keep pricing competitive if it wants a piece of the Tesla Model Y pie, but it also needs to convince the market that it’s upmarket enough to be mentioned in the same breath as Porsche.
Our sources say that we can expect the top A390 to develop up to 600 horsepower via two electric motors on the rear axle and one on the front, while more attainable models will generate around 400 hp and offer roughly 600 kilometers/373 miles (on the European WLTP cycle). Production will take place in France and a full debut is likely in 2025, but before then, we’ll see the concept at the Paris Motor Show next month (14-20 October). Alpine looks like a great fit for America, and we hope it lives up to our expectations.
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