Alpine Steers Into Its Electric Sports Car Era With the A290_β Hot Hatch

Alpine produces one of the best small sports car on the market — the Alpine A110. Now, it looks forward to an electrified future with its compact EV sports car, the A290_β.

While it is based on the Internet-breaking Renault 5 prototype that was revealed in January 2021 (and slated to arrive on our roads in 2024), there’s plenty that’s been done to make Alpine’s A290_β a sports car through and through.

Despite performance details not being divulged as of writing, it’s clear to tell that the A290_β has its eyes set on the hot hatch market. Twin spotlights up front evokes Alpine’s rallying days of the 1970s, while forged carbon fiber used for the front splitter, side skirts, widened wheel arches, rear diffuser, and as an accent on the rear lights embodies a sense of weight reduction.

Aerodiscs — here shaped in an unconventional square manner — echo the racing elements of the brand, as does the “Alpine White” color that’s accented with the French flag. Inside, you’ll find retrofuturism met with sports car traditions, as an angular LED-clad cabin is complemented with bucket seats and a flat-bottomed steering wheel.

Unlike other concept cars, Alpine has said this is quite promisingly realistic. Per TopGear, it has been noted by Alpine’s Chief Designer Raphael Linari that “85 percent of the exterior design is identical to the real thing.”

Stay tuned to Hypebeast and Hypedrive for more information about the car as news unfolds.

Elsewhere, check out Hypebeast’s deep dive into the fast, furious, forgotten era of modified cars.