Alpine A390

With tri-motor all-wheel drive and A110 R-rivalling pace, this new 'sport fastback' EV balances performance and practicality to pave the way for future bespoke Alpines

- by SAM JENKINS

JUST AS BRITAIN BEGINS TO WARM UP, I find myself on a frozen lake in Swedish Lapland. It could be worse though, as it's unseasonably warm at a balmy -9 degrees Celsius and there's a prototype of an all-new Alpine defrosting beneath its camouflage.

The car in question is not a featherweight, low-slung coupe, but a 'sport fastback' - or a crossover to you and me. Named the A390, it will join the A290 hot hatch in the marque's EV line-up and will also, for a while at least, plug Alpine's flagship gap when the A110 goes off sale next year. The A390 was first previewed last year in concept form and is now just a few months from a market launch that will, with no little significance, fall on the brand's 70th anniversary.

As concerning as the arrival of a crossover may sound to those who admire Alpine's traditional core values, there's method to the madness. The company sees the A390 as a way to drastically increase sales volume and generate cash by introducing fresh customers to the brand, much like Porsche did with the first Cayenne at the turn of the millennium. Should the A390 succeed, it will open the door to much more exciting, bespoke Alpines, closer in ethos to those we know and love.

In fact, Alpine is keen to stress that it will be building two distinct product lines going forward: Lifestyle and Icon. The A290 hatchback and its larger A390 relative fall into the former category, and its being more useable, accessible cars, but still with a performance edge. Meanwhile, 'Icon' is reserved for ground-up driver's cars, so the A110 fits into this group, as will its eventual electric replacement.