- Alpine teased a lightly camouflaged A390 electric crossover prototype before its May 27 unveiling.
- The A390 is built on the same platform as the Nissan Ariya, but it has one more electric motor for extra power and control.
- It will be followed by an electric four-seat sports car built on the same underpinnings and an electric successor to the A110, all of which could come to America.
Even sports car manufacturers like Renault’s Alpine need a taller vehicle in their lineup to really matter in today’s crossover-crazed car market. The company will fully reveal its first high-rider, the A390, on May 27. For now, we have a sneak peek at a camouflaged prototype undergoing winter testing in Lapland.
The Alpine A390 is marginally smaller than a Porsche Macan EV, but the two will be cross-shopped since they’re very similar. It’s less of an SUV than the Macan, too, with an almost sedan-like rear decklid and aggressively sloped rear glass. The press release makes no mention of this being a crossover or SUV. Instead, Alpine simply calls it a “sport fastback.”
Even though the prototype in the photos has some camouflage, it’s practically revealed. We get a good look at its overall shape as well as details like the headlights and the front “blade” aero element, which is similar to what we’ve seen on the Polestar 3 and the Dodge Charger Daytona EV.
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Alpine hasn’t shown the interior in detail yet, but it has shown the steering wheel, which is shared with the Alpine A290 hot hatch, the brand’s second model after the A110. The rest of the interior should look very different from the A290, though, as the A390 will be sold at a higher price point as a more exclusive, high-performance offering.
While we don’t know the specifics of the powertrain and battery, it will have a tri-motor, all-wheel drive configuration. Alpine also mentions torque vectoring among its features. One motor for each rear wheel allows for precise torque distribution, enhancing the car’s behavior in various circumstances.
This means the A390’s five drive modes will change its character significantly. One of these modes will allow you to slide the car around on a loose surface, which you can do in another rival, the Ford Mustang Mach-E Rally.
Based on the AmpR Medium platform, the A390 is related to the Nissan Ariya and two Renault E-Tech EVs, the Megane and Scenic. However, none of these vehicles have three motors, so the Alpine will likely be considerably more powerful.
For comparison, the most powerful Nismo version of the Nissan Ariya has two identical 215-horsepower motors that together make 429 horsepower. The A390 will likely use the same motors, so adding a third could bring the total output to 644 horsepower. That will put it on par with the Porsche Macan Turbo and give it a similar acceleration time of just over 3 seconds to 62 mph (100 km/h).
The A390 could also share its battery with the Nissan, which has a gross capacity of 91 kilowatt-hours from its largest offering. That translates to an EPA range of 304 miles or 329 miles on the WLTP test cycle. Both range ratings are relevant since Alpine plans to start a “world expansion phase,” which may see it reach the U.S. in 2027.
Alpine also plans to launch a four-seat sports car called the A310 based on the same Renault-Nissan platform. After the current ICE model retires in 2026, Alpine will replace the A110 with an EV built on a different bonded aluminum platform. Its replacement will likely be sold in the U.S. alongside the A390 and A310 if Alpine makes it across the ocean, even in spite of tariffs. The A290 will remain a strictly European model.
