This is Alpine's A290 beta EV hot hatch concept

PARIS, France - Alpine has just revealed its hot hatch concept for the electrified era. It's called the A290_β (or A290 beta) and it's the first of three vehicles from Alpine's upcoming "Dream Garage" range of all-electric sports cars.

The A290_β will be based on the all-electric Renault 5 concept hatchback (both share the same CMF-B EV platform) but is slated to receive a slew of chassis and powertrain upgrades more befitting of its racier looks and coveted namesake.

"The A290_β is the first stage in Alpine's new era, the first step towards the all-electric Dream Garage in 2024", says Laurent Rossi, CEO of Alpine, "This urban show car has rewritten the playbook for electric hot hatches. The A290_β is tapping into its rich legacy and ushering Alpine into the future, with an everyday experience of the motor sports spirit that has inspired the brand since its inception."

For the uninitiated, Alpine is a French manufacturer that worked closely with Renault, specialising in performance vehicles that achieved success in rallying, beating out various marques to win the World Rally Championship (WRC) in 1973. Incidentally, it was the year that Alpine was bought out by Renault.

Today, Alpine produces the mid-engined A110, the A110 Legende and the appropriately named A110 GT for comfort-biased grand touring, as well as the more powerful A110 S. All of which are sub-1.2-ton lightweight sports cars that have impressed us both on the road and in the looks department.

Likewise, the A290_β is shaping up to be just as eye-catching. While we wouldn't exactly say that it looks like the spiritual successor of the Renault 5 Turbo, one would certainly see the visual similarities between both. The short overhangs, swollen arches and air inlets just aft of the rear doors.

Technical details and specifications haven't been announced, but we do know that the A290_β will have a multi-link suspension setup in the rear, high-performance Brembo brakes lifted from the A110 and two electric motors in the front (powering a wheel each) with torque vectoring. And it has a hydraulic handbrake to boot. There's also an "overtake" button that delivers a power boost for 10 seconds at a time, akin to the KERS systems in Formula One cars. 

And like Alpine's own A523 Formula One race car, the A290_β also has a central driving position, with two additional seats on either side of the driver's bucket seat. We're not sure if the latter feature is specific to the show car pictured above, or if it'll be in the actual production car.

According to Alpine, 85 per cent of the show car's exterior components will make it onto the production version. So expect less forged carbon, raw carbon, and less carbon fibre when the A290_β starts rolling off production lines.

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This article was first published in CarBuyer.