What appears to be a heavily modified first-gen Dacia Duster is likely a testing mule for the Alpine GT X-Over, the brand’s first all-electric SUV scheduled to debut in 2025. Development of the fully electric SUV, first teased last year, is well underway, with the mule being spotted during winter testing alongside the Nissan Ariya sibling and an Alpine A110. The first time we saw this racecar-style Duster was back in 2019, when no one had a clue what it was, despite the fact it was flaunting Alpine-badged brake calipers and it was evidently fitted with a fully electric powertrain. Three years later, the weird Duster with the wide fenders, the roof-mounted lights, the clamshell rear end, and the metal snow plow splitter is back for more testing.
This time though, we are aware of Alpine’s
future product strategy, and that means that the cool-looking Duster in the spy
shots is most likely the mule of the upcoming electric SUV. The mule retains
the four-wheel steering but it benefits from a new set of lightweight 19-inch
Jerez alloy wheels sourced from the Renault Megane RS Trophy hot hatch. It goes
without saying that the production version of the GT X-Over will feature a
completely different body, featuring an aerodynamic silhouette and a coupe-style
roofline, as shown in Alpine’s official teaser. The GT X-Over will be sharing
the CMF-EV architecture with the Nissan Ariya and the Renault Mégane E-Tech,
while featuring a significantly more powerful powertrain.
We also expect a different suspension and
chassis setup with four-wheel steering and beefier brakes. Finally, the
electric Alpine SUV will get a tech-heavy cabin with premium materials to match
Alpine’s market positioning. Production of the GT X-Over is scheduled to start
in 2025, at the Manufacture Alpine Dieppe Jean Rédélé factory. We guess that
production-bodied prototypes will start appearing in the next few years,
revealing the actual shape of Alpine’s first crossover. The French automaker is
set to become a fully electric brand by 2026, by launching a new model range
that will include the Alpine A5 hot hatch, the GT X-Over grand tourer, and the
electric successor of the Alpine A110.