Meet the all-electric 2025 Alpine A290 GT, a small car that’s the start of something huge for the sporty Renault sub-brand that wants to be France’s answer to Porsche. Alpine has committed to launching seven EVs by 2030, including an electric replacement for the A110, plus crossover SUVs that should come to the US. But first to arrive is the A290, a hot-hatch version of the new all-electric, retro-styled Renault 5 E-Tech. The fastest Renault 5 gets a 148 hp electric motor that drives the front wheels, and while the A290, which was unveiled today at the Le Mans 24 Hour race in France, sticks with the two-wheel drive layout, it ups the pony count considerably.
Alpine’s version makes 217 hp and 300 Nm in its most potent GT Performance form, which
drops the zero to 100 km/h time from the 5 E-Tech’s 8 seconds to 6.4
seconds. A less powerful model, badged simply A290 GT, generates 178 hp and 285 Nm, and takes a second longer to reach 62 mph. The
two-tier lineup puts the Alpine pair in direct competition with the new
electric Mini Cooper E and Cooper SE, which make 181 hp and
the same 217 hp as the Frenchies, and need 7.3 seconds and 6.7 seconds to
achieve 62 mph. Adding to the impression of speed is a choice of two digital
soundtracks that claim to be based on the natural harmonics of the A290’s electric
motor.
Alpine has
stuck with the same 52 kWh battery offered in higher-spec 5 E-Techs for both
A290 variants. And while that, plus some aluminium parts, has helped keep the
curb weight down to 1,479 kg, it does mean the range suffers. Renault
quotes a 400 km range for the 5, which drops to 380 km for the Alpines. That figure also matches what Mini claims for the Cooper SE,
but the Cooper E gets a smaller battery and is only good for 306
km. An unimpressive 100 kW DC charge rate means a 15-80 percent fill in the
A290 takes 30 minutes.
The stock 5 already looks fairly
purposeful thanks to its chiselled lines and angular bulging fenders that tip a
hat to the bonkers mid-engined Renault 5 Turbos of the early 1980s, but the
A290’s track is 60 mm
wider, 19-inch wheels available in two different designs, filling the
wheelarches. Both cars get Brembo four-pot brakes up front. Alpine has also
applied its own styling details to A290, including X-shaped driving lights set
into the grille, X-motifs in the headlights, a deep front bumper and three
strakes ahead of the rear wheels. Like the Renault 5 it’s based on, the A290 is
a five-door hatch, but it does a good job of looking like a two-door hatch by
hiding the rear door handle in the corner of the window by the C-pillar.
Inside, the basic dash architecture,
including a 10.1-inch infotainment screen, is carried over from the Renault 5,
but Alpine adds its own sports pedals and even a set of transmission selector
buttons on the lower console, just like the ones you get in the A110 sports
car. There’s a bespoke steering wheel too, whose ‘OV’ overtake button delivers
the maximum 217 hp instantly, and which sounds like a pure gimmick since you
can unleash the exact same thing with your right foot. More useful to our mind
is the button to toggle between the A290’s four regen levels. The 178 hp A290
comes in either GT or GT Premium trim, the fancier one adding a black roof,
Alpine Blue calipers, Nappa leather and premium hifi, while the 217 hp car
offers red calipers and special Michelin Pilot Sport 5 tires in stock GT
Performance trim, or can be ordered as a GTS, which bundles in the GT Premium
goodies.
Alpine hasn’t revealed full pricing but
says the A290 will cost from € 38,000 (US$ 41k / £ 32k), which would make it more
expensive than the Mini Cooper E/SE, which starts € 34,000 in France (US$ 37k / £
29k). It’s available to order from this summer with left-hand drive deliveries
scheduled for the end of the year. Right-hand drive markets won’t get their
cars until early 2025, and, sadly, the US won’t get any at all. Of course no
new-car reveal would be complete without the announcement of launch-edition
model. In the A290’s case it’s the GTS Premiere Edition, which gets its own
livery, extra equipment and a commemorative dashboard plaque, and is limited to
1,955 units, that number a reference to the year Alpine was founded.
