2025 Alpine A290 Photos, engines & full specs

Renault put some effort into developing the 2024 Alpine A290 EV hot hatch, a model that glorified the famous French brand that won rallies, Formula 1 races, and the 24 Hours of LeMans.

After successfully reviving the Renault 5 as an electric vehicle in 2024, the French brand made another move and introduced the Alpine A290 as a premium hot hatch EV. The new model carried over the best parts from its less-performant 5 and other Renault and Alpine models and was packed in a car that was meticulously styled and produced with unusual attention to detail by Alpine. Furthermore, the French team bragged about making the vehicle entirely in their country besides the battery pack at the launch moment that happened in the summer of 2024. The new EV hot hatch sat on a fresh platform featuring independent suspension in all corners, which, apart from a few models, Renault wasn’t very keen to provide to its customers ever since the ‘80s. The car boasted details that made it look special, even though its performance wasn’t that special, especially for a go-fast five-door EV.

At the front, the Alpine A290 featured trapezoidal headlights resembling those from the Renault 5 from the 70s and 80s. In addition, it sported a second set of lamps mounted between them. All these sported X-shaped LED daytime running lights. These Xs resembled the duct tape applied to rally cars in the ‘70s that helped the headlights and fog lamps to stay together if hit by rocks. Lower, on the apron, the automaker created a broad, shiny black air intake featuring a snowflake-inspired mesh.

From its profile, the 2024 Alpine A290 retained the same overall shape as the Renault 5. In addition, it sported gloss-black flared wheel arches on both axles since the car’s track was 3 cm (1.2 inches) wider. Both front fenders were adorned by the Alpine logos pointed forward. At the same time, the rear doors featured a stamped shape resembling the air intakes of the glorious, mid-engined turbocharged Renault 5 Turbo 2 from the early ‘80s. To further emphasize the car’s sporty character, the automaker added wider side sills, also sporting a black gloss finish, like the trims that adorned the wheel arches. In the back, the automaker created a new tailgate for the A290 compared to the regular R5. To improve efficiency, the car manufacturer kept the roof spoiler at the top, and also added a duck tail in the middle, below the rear window. Finally, the bumper got an Alpine-specific bumper featuring a broad diffuser underneath.

The abundance of interior details made the A290 look significantly different than its R5 brother. It still featured the same displays on the dashboard, one of 10.25-inch fronting the steering wheel and the other was a 10.1 touchscreen placed atop the center stack and tilted towards the driver for the infotainment system. The latter ran on Google and could provide more information, including real-time traffic and other essential notices for those living in cities with congested traffic. Furthermore, it could activate the battery preheating when going to a charger, so the car could get shorter charging times. Unlike the R5, the A290 had three transmission buttons on the center console. These were carried over from the Alpine A110, while the R5 had those controls placed on a stalk attached to the steering column. Fronting the driver was a new, flat-bottom steering wheel that sported, among others, designated buttons for driving modes and a red button for boosting.

Unlike other automakers who focused on creating RWD hot hatches, Alpine chose a front-wheel drive solution. In addition, the batteries were placed under the floor, and as a result, the A290 had the largest trunk in its segment at the time of its launch. The motor under the hood was carried over from other Renault models and was available with two different power ratings of 180 PS (178 hp) and 220 PS (217 hp), respectively.