- Alpine has revealed its second EV, the A390, which sits in the gray area between sedan and SUV.
- The A390’s tri-motor powertrain promises active torque vectoring across the rear axle and up to 470 horsepower.
- The A390 could become the first modern Alpine to be sold in the U.S., but the brand recently admitted that tariffs were making it rethink its expansion plans.
We’ve spent much of the past decade longingly gazing at the Alpine A110, a nimble, lightweight sports car sold in Europe with a svelte, retro design. Now there’s another Alpine to pine over, but there’s a chance this one reaches our shores later this year. The French automaker, a subsidiary of Renault, revealed the A390 today, an electric fastback crossover with a potent tri-motor powertrain and a concept-car-like design.AlpineThe A390 was previewed last year by the A390 β concept and will enter production with minimal changes to its sharp styling. The thin LED light bar still stretches across the A390’s brow, with a series of snazzy triangular lights—dubbed “Cosmic Dust” by Alpine—below and an intricately designed grille in the lower bumper to direct cool air to the batteries. The A390’s muscular rear haunches and chiseled character lines remain, as does the rear light bar and sloping roofline. The A390 straddles the boundary between a sedan and an SUV, standing nearly four inches shorter than a Porsche Macan EV and less than an inch taller than a BMW i5 sedan. Its 181.7-inch length from nose to tail makes it about nine inches shorter than a Polestar 4 and roughly four inches longer than a Genesis GV60. The A390’s bodywork was designed with aerodynamics in mind, with a functional rear diffuser, a subtle black rear spoiler, and a floating wing integrated into the hood that directs air through a channel between the headlights.AlpineThe Alpine’s assertive, dynamic styling is certainly appealing, but what’s happening under the skin really gets us excited. The A390’s tri-motor powertrain sees one electric motor live on the front axle and two at the rear, with each of those e-motors independently controlling a wheel. This allows for an active torque-vectoring system that Alpine believes will make the A390 especially playful in corners; the automaker even compares it to the A110 featherweight. Alpine says the car will be able to deliver more torque to the outside wheel to rotate the A390 through corners, helping offset the weight penalty of an EV. Alpine says the A390 will tip the scales at around 4676 pounds.The A390 will come in two trims. The base GT model produces 400 horsepower and zips from zero to 62 mph in a claimed 4.8 seconds. The top GTS trim ups output to 470 hp and 595 pound-feet of torque and slashes the sprint to 62 mph to a claimed 3.9 seconds. This isn’t incredibly quick in the world of EVs, but the reputation Alpine built on the back of the A110 is more about handling prowess than straight-line speed, and the torque-vectoring system promises to preserve that feeling.AlpineThe cabin is, understandably, a more drastic departure from the fantastical setup in the concept, which featured a yoke-style steering wheel and dramatic racing seats. Still, the A390’s interior looks modern, luxurious, and driver-focused, with a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster and a 12-inch touchscreen angled towards the driver. Thankfully, physical climate controls remain, and the heated steering wheel, door panels, and bucket seats are shod in lush blue nappa leather. The steering wheel features a rotary knob to adjust the regenerative braking and a “OV” (Overtake) button to enable a 10-second boost function and launch control.The A390’s 89-kWh battery is estimated to deliver between 323 and 344 miles on the European WLTP test cycle, which translates to up to roughly 293 miles on the EPA test cycle. The A390 is set to be assembled in France, and orders for European customers will open in the fourth quarter, meaning deliveries should start next year.We initially thought the A390 could be the first Alpine to reach the United States after the brand signaled its intention to enter the U.S. market in 2027 with an EV-only lineup. Alpine recently said that the introduction of high tariffs on imported cars is causing it to reevaluate its plans and will likely delay its U.S. launch closer to 2030.More on AlpineCaleb Miller began blogging about cars at 13 years old, and he realized his dream of writing for a car magazine after graduating from Carnegie Mellon University and joining the Car and Driver team. He loves quirky and obscure autos, aiming to one day own something bizarre like a Nissan S-Cargo, and is an avid motorsports fan.
Source: caranddriver.com
