Go to Ultimatecarpage.com

  Ultimatecarpage.com  > Cars by brand  > France  > Alpine
A290_β
Car search:
Quick Advanced 


  Alpine A290_β      

  Article Image gallery (16) Specifications  
Click here to open the Alpine A290_β gallery   
Country of origin:France
Produced in:2023
Engine type:Battery Electric Vehicle
Source:Company press release
Last updated:May 22, 2023
Download: All images
Page 1 of 2 Next >>
Click here to download printer friendly versionThe A290, the future compact B-segment electric sports car in Alpine’s new era, shines through the spectacular, ultra-sporty A290_β (A290 beta) show car. The first of the three models in the future Dream Garage will be a new-generation, fully electric sports car designed to trigger every driver’s competitive spirit and recast the notion of sports cars.

The A290_β, in other words, is opening a new chapter in Alpine’s enthralling history. The brand is tapping into its motorsport heritage and essence, and venturing into new segments starting with an urban sports car. The show car’s design, materials and technology encapsulate a new angle on electric cars that are just as suited for motor sport circuits as they are for everyday drives – and as exciting for the driver as they are for passengers. And, as low-carbon mobility is becoming a sine qua non - absolutely necessary - in the automotive sector, the Alpine A290_β is more than a show car: it embodies the brand’s strong stand and unwavering commitment to sustainable motorsports.

The decision to call the car A290_β is based on the Alpine brand’s global naming strategy. The names start with the letter A, followed by three numbers. The number 2 stands for the B-segment and the 90 stands for the brand’s future Lifestyle range. The Greek letter beta indicates an intermediate phase working up to the production vehicle’s official launch in 2024. Its electric motor will also be manufactured in France, in the Cléon Megafactory.

"The A290_β is the first stage in Alpine’s new era, the first step towards the all-electric Dream Garage in 2024. This urban show car has rewritten the playbook for electric hot hatches. The A290_β is tapping into its rich legacy and ushering Alpine into the future, with an everyday experience of the motorsport spirit that has inspired the brand since its inception."
 Laurent Rossi, CEO, Alpine

From the outside, the A290_β looks like a lot like the future production models will. Inside, its three-seat configuration is a whole new concept.

This show car takes power and agility to new heights in its category. With two electric motors at the front, the A290_β an ultra-sporty show-car for the technological challenges that Alpine’s development engineers and drivers have taken on and tackled. They have combined numerous specific developments (chassis, suspension, torque management, etc.) with extensive fine-tuning to achieve both playful and efficient behaviour. The A290_β has been cleared for use on tracks by the FFSA (Fédération Française du Sport Automobile) and fine-tuned to perfection. It is brimming with surprises and will treat drivers to unforgettable experiences behind the wheel. Like the Alpenglow concept car revealed in 2022, the A290_β has the driver’s seat in the centre, like a single seater racing car, to take the experience of oneness with the vehicle to the next level. The difference is that the A290_β can also carry two passengers slightly behind the driver – one on either side – so they can enjoy the full view from an angle quite unlike anything they have seen before.

The A290_β has naturally inherited the DNA that Alpine honed in motorsports and competitions including the range of racing car functionalities built into the steering wheel with telemetry, the dynamic shapes and the air inlets streamlined for better cooling, the driving seat on the centreline, the bucket seats providing optimal support and the hydraulic handbrake. It is ready to put on a show!

The three exclusive and pioneering models in the line-up – a compact sports car, a GT crossover and the A110’s replacement – make up Alpine’s Dream Garage. They will all be 100% electric. The A290_β sits in the B-segment sports car designed primarily for cities. Production will begin in 2024 at ElectriCity in Douai. It will be built on the Alliance’s CMF-B EV platform for B-segment electric vehicles.

"The A290_β combines a racing soul with urban influences. It is designed for a new generation of hot-hatch enthusiasts. Its proportions and technical details instantly sweep you into a reinvented motorsport universe. To be true to Alpine’s driving-experience know-how, we placed the driver at the centre of the cockpit. The A290_β is designed – inside and outside – around this principle. As we go electric, this is one way of showing that we are attached to Alpine’s DNA and the spirit that is guiding us as we develop the Alpines for tomorrow." 
Antony Villain, Design Director, Alpine

Like the Alpenglow concept car before it, seen in 2020, the Alpine A290_β has all the design hallmarks that will define the Dream Garage vehicles. And this show car comes with even more striking features including archetypal Alpine wheels, a cockpit inspired by the ones in single seater racing cars, and noble, long-lasting materials.

The Alpine A290_β show car was created around the feeling of fusing with the machinery. It intertwines the brand’s legendary passion for motorsports and the one-of-a-kind sensations that stepping into an Alpine arouses. A magenta line cuts across the car, underscoring its might, speed and technicity. This stripe symbolises the human-machine connection. The blue line points to the connection between the driver and passengers. The blue around the car fades to magenta and visibly underlines both links.

"We created something completely geared for the future. We wanted up-to-the-minute surfaces, details and materials, a vehicle that fulfils every Alpine promise, that’s exciting, surprising, and not even remotely nostalgic or backward-looking."
 Raphael Linari, Chief Designer, Alpine

The A290_β includes all the Alpine brand’s ingredients, and treats drivers to a radically new experience in an electric sports car at the top of its game. The dynamic and categorically modern body, combining muscular shapes and razor-sharp technical details, radiates its uncompromising attitude to performance. This show car is 4.05 metres long, 1.85 metres wide and 1.48 metres high, and is a taster for a sparkling, agile production car with a short wheelbase and wider track for sporty driving and greater stability at high speeds.

The Alpine A290_β’s designers poured over the tiniest details to maximise the show car’s aerodynamic performance and the sensations behind the wheel. The front bumper has large air inlets that enhance the car’s aerodynamics while cooling it more efficiently. The ultra-slim floating rear-view mirrors also play a part in the car’s road grip, and the indicator bands underline the vehicle’s versatility and power.

There are other sculpted air inlets beneath the headlights, to help air flow smoothly and add a motorsport vibe. The battery fans are visible and look a bit like the fans cooling supercharged gaming PCs.

The windshield stretches conspicuously over the bonnet to deepen the connection between the outside and inside, and to shine a light on the central driving seat. It provides a unique view of the arrow-shaped dashboard inspired by Formula 1 cars’ nose cones and this architecture in a class by itself extends outwards with the mirrors.

The Alpine A290_β’s aluminium wheels faithfully foreshadow the ones on the production model. They are cut in a singular pattern and combine three colours: Alps Snow matching the body, classic glossy mineral black for extra intensity around the base and a blue ring to complete this vehicle’s exclusive, iconic rim. A square cut-out at the centre of the 20-inch circle adds zip and an original touch.

The exclusive tyres were purpose-engineered for this model with Michelin for optimal performance, agility and control in all conditions. Matching the rest of the show car’s look and one of the Alpine brand’s hallmarks, the tyres also have two white triangles, which show where to position the tyre to the wheel. The name Michelin is written visibly in white on the side, completing the design and pointing to the exclusive partnership with this French tyre manufacturer. Michelin will supply the high-performance 19 inch tyres with exclusive Alpine markings. These tyres were custom-designed to ensure ideal calibration and first-class performance on the production A290 when it’s launched.

The A290_β beautifully captures something about the mountain range that inspired it: its body is powdery white and glimmers faintly in the light. This crystal-like effect comes from a textured paint that makes the surface shine like freshly fallen snow. Contrasting with it, all the parts around the base – the sills, front spoiler and lower valance accents – are rock-like forged carbon and have a blue inlay pointing to the car’s all-out technicity. The metallic-black roof and bonnet hint at the car’s sheer electric power and direct the gaze to driver’s seat at the centre.

Page 1 of 2 Next >>

  Article Image gallery (16) Specifications