What is the name of this car please?

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For fans, this is perfectly clear: most car names are male, but mean “Alpine.” Renault’s sports brand continues this tradition with such enthusiasm that last year it even announced that it will have a female driver in the cockpit of the Formula 1 team by 2030. “Rac(H)er” is the name of the young talent program Alpine uses to search for female talent. However, Alpine’s not only “it” or “the” question, but also the name of the brand’s new concept car.

By 2026, it will launch three all-electric Alpines: To begin with, a small, hot hatchback model intended to compete with Abarth’s 500e as the first electric “hot hatch”. A sports car and possibly a crossover will follow as a successor to the current A110. The fabric has now been pulled from the first of three planned Stromers. Name: A290_β. And how do you pronounce it?

It gets complicated with the name

Typically for Alpine, A is at the start. The 2 indicates the size of the model – so it offers more space than the A110. In the future, the number 90 will represent Alpine lifestyle models. And finally, “β” is not a high German sharp S, but a Greek letter beta. In the IT industry, it refers to the test version of new software, with final bugs fixed in practical tests shortly before launch. Meaning: This concept car is pretty close to the production version.

The 4.05-metre-long run is based on the new electric Renault 5 prototype shown in 2021. It is scheduled to launch in 2024 and inherits the basic shape, many design details, as well as the boxy cockpit of the original Renault 5 produced in 1972. until 1996. With typical design tricks it will be the Alpine A290_β: Two additional headlights guarantee the Alpine four-eyed front, and their cross-shaped LEDs are reminiscent of Rallye-Alpines headlights, which were formerly protected against stone chipping with adhesive cassette. There is also an LED strip from the A-pillar to the rear spoiler.

Cockpit like an F1 car

The interior is less standard: the driver sits in the center front in the arrow-shaped cockpit; Two passengers are sitting on the right and left. The steering wheel is reminiscent of Alpine F1 cars, including a ten-second assist button for overtaking.

As in motorsport, there is an emergency stop button on the roof, and designers have spared touchscreens and monitors so that nothing distracts the driver from the road. Like many body parts, seat shells are made of carbon fiber. The cockpit will definitely be more traditional in the series.

Technical information still missing

Alpine doesn’t talk much about technology: two electric motors of unknown power at the front axle provide propulsion, there are three drive programs, and braking is done by a four-piston system.

Battery capacity and performance? There is no information about this yet. The results of the all-electric Megane E-Tech Electric, which is already on the market, are meaningless because a new, more cost-effective propulsion platform called CMF-B EV is still in development. It will build on not only the small Alpine, but also the electric Renault 4 and 5, and possibly the new Micra from Renault’s collaborative partner Nissan.

Of course, nothing is known about the release and expected prices of the production version of the A290. But it’s unlikely that Renault group will spend too much time with the Alpine sports version after the launch of the new R5 scheduled for 2024. This will be followed by two more innovations until 2026.

Source: Blick