Renault’s sports-car subsidiary Alpine recently teased its new electric pint-sized hot hatch concept in a press release. It is worth noting that it is the brand’s first new offering since it succeeded Renault Sport as the company’s performance unit.
A290_β (beta)
The A290_β (beta) concept car from Alpine will be a high-performance variant of the redesigned Renault 5 electric city hatchback and the petrol Renault Clio RS, per Drive.
Alpine apparently plans to launch the production model Alpine A290 in 2024. Meanwhile, four additional electric Alpines, including a new A110 sports car and three SUVs, are scheduled to arrive by 2028.
Design
The A290_β concept has been teased by Alpine in advance of its scheduled introduction on Wednesday, May 10, at 6:30 am AEST. It displayed significant styling improvements over the baseline ‘R5’, including the following:
- larger rear spoiler
- what seems to be a bonnet vent
- larger front bumper with a new take on Alpine’s classic four-light signature
- two additional LED driving lights with X-shaped patterns
- X-shaped LED headlight signatures are different from the regular Renault 5.
Technical details
Renault executives have revealed to UK media that the 160kW electric motor that will power the Alpine hot hatch’s front wheels is a carryover from the company’s larger electric vehicles.
The motor’s anticipated 0-100 km/h acceleration time is six seconds. Meanwhile, the regular Renault 5, which will employ a 100 kW motor, is expected to have a stated driving range of up to 400 km.
The report further noted that these performance measurements are faster than those of the class rivals for the petrol-powered Alpine, including the Ford Fiesta ST, Hyundai i20 N, and the former Renault Clio RS. They claim 0-100 km/h acceleration of 6.5 to 7.0 seconds using turbo engines with about 150 kW.
Naming
According to the press release, Alpine’s customary one-letter, three-number naming scheme will remain in use in its electrification. The first number following the letter A will indicate the size of the car. For instance, the “2” for the A290 will open the door for significantly bigger variants.
On the other hand, the next two digits will indicate the kind of vehicle. In this case, 90 is for the brand’s hatchbacks and SUVs, also known as “lifestyle” cars, or 10 for its specialized sports cars.
Alpine also explained to the media that the beta mark “refers to the beta test used in the software world, the test version, just before the final version.”
See Also:
- Renault to employ software architecture on par with Tesla by 2026
- Renault’s CEO: EV’s price point won’t be the same as petrol cars
- Renault to officially launch the Megane E-Tech in Australia in 2023
- “This is destroying value for the customer,” Renault CEO says of Tesla’s pricing strategy
- Nissan to invest 15% in Renault’s Ampere under their restructured partnership
Interestingly, the 2025 release of the new Alpine electric vehicles as well as the regular Renault 5 electric hatchback, has reportedly garnered interest from Renault’s Australian distributor.
On May 10, 2023, at 6:30 a.m. AEST, you can watch the global launch of the Alpine A290 Beta concept at this link.
