The electric Renault 5 is already driving the masses crazy before it hits the road. Now the Alpine version is also being presented – and it should be even more electrifying. The French are not afraid to use the A110 sports car as a reference.
The Alpine A290 is the name of the sporty small car, which visually has very little to do with what we associate with Alpine. But: “In terms of acceleration, the A110 serves as a reference vehicle. The response changes depending on the selected driving mode, but the A290 always remains true to the principle of delivering maximum driving pleasure and maximum performance,” the marketing text makes us want to take a test drive. We are looking forward to that too. Until then, it takes a lot of goodwill to be able to understand the comparison. The electric motor in the A290 delivers either 177 hp in the basic version and the GT Premium variant or 218 hp in the GT Performance and GTS versions. For comparison: A110 252 hp, A110 S 300 hp. And all this with a significantly lower weight (the A110 weighs just 1109 kg). Leaving the marketing aside, the A290 will certainly be an exciting representative of the electric drive guild. A best time of 6.4 seconds for the standard sprint (top version) is sporty, as is the whole appearance, which includes a lot of racing tinsel, including an extra button on the steering wheel. It says OV on it, which does not stand for “without reason” but for overtake. This allows the last kilowatts to be squeezed out of the coil. However, the electronics do not allow more than 170 km/h, even under high pressure. The design of the vehicle gives hope for a veritable corner robber: the track, which has been widened by 60 millimeters, should not only have its purpose in a muscular look, but should also be expressed in the corresponding cornering and grip of the 19-inch Michelins. With a length of 3.99 meters, a width of 1.82 m and a wheelbase of 2.53 m (at a height of 1.52 m), maneuverability is to be expected. The turning circle is 10.20 m. Multi-link rear suspension plus special stabilizers at the front and rear are said to contribute to “agile handling” and “driving pleasure and dynamics of a hot hatch”. A total of 26 driver assistance systems are responsible for safety. After starting, personalized settings can be selected at the touch of a button using the “My Safety Switch” button – for example, whether acoustic warning signals should sound or not. In short: get rid of the speed limit warning and lane departure warning! Thank you! One thing is certain: if you push the accelerator, you will soon have to use the charging station, the battery only holds 52 kWh (the car is simply not very big), and there is talk of a range of up to 380 km. Charging is done with eleven or 100 kW, and the battery should be filled from 15 to 80 percent in half an hour using the fast charger. A heat pump is standard.The 10.25-inch speedometer instrument does not have round dials and, like the 10.1-inch infotainment screen, uses geometric symbols; the speedometer is projected onto a blue screen background with mountain silhouettes. And because it is a small sports car, telemetry functions are also on board: Live Date, for example, shows the values of lateral and longitudinal inclination, acceleration and braking, engine and battery temperature, tire pressure and temperature, or brake temperature. The Challenges program includes tasks that must be completed on closed roads, such as acceleration, braking, or the accelerator pedal percentage over a certain distance. A touch of video game for racing fans.The price list should start at around 38,000 euros. We are excited to see how much of the spirit of the blessed R5 Turbo is in the Alpine A290.
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