The sharp Alpine A290 gets over 220 horsepower. The unveiling will take place during the 24 Hours of Le Mans

Alongside the A110 sports car, an electric hot-hatch will soon be built under the Alpine brand. The premiere is not far away.

The sports variant of the new Renault 5 E-Tech, which was taken care of by the Alpine brand, is officially out the door. The premiere of the A290 electric hot hatch is confirmed by the French manufacturer on June 13, at the Le Mans circuit on the occasion of the upcoming twenty-four hour race (June 15-16). Alpine has already published photos from testing the prototype, and we already know a little about the technology.

On the identical CMF-BEV platform of the Renault 5, Alpine will want to ensure an even sportier and more playful character of the hatchback. We expect a new chassis setup with a wider wheel track and additional hydraulic stops. The A290 will probably borrow the braking system from the A110 coupe, although there will be further tuning with regard to the energy recovery function.

The configuration with one electric motor and front-wheel drive will be retained by the A290, in two power levels. The brand revealed to the British Autocar that the basis will be the engine from the Mégane E-Tech guaranteeing 220 hp (160 kW) – the standard Renault 5 E-Tech will offer a maximum output of 150 hp (110 kW). Later in 2027, however, a new engine with a power of up to 272 hp (200 kW) would expand the offer.

From the A290_β concept, the production version of the hot-hatch will also take over the function of a short-term, ten-second power increase. The torque vectoring system will then be tuned according to the brand to simulate the work of a mechanical differential. Alpine has yet to confirm the capacity of the battery used, but the larger 52kWh module from the standard Renault 5 seems a likely choice.

While the exterior design might not be fundamentally different from the concept, inside the A290 will be a conventional four-seat hatchback – the A290_β study showed an interior with a central driver’s seat and roll bar. In production, we can therefore expect the embellished architecture of the standard “five” with sports accessories and the style of the Alpine brand.