New Alpine A390 performance SUV put through its paces in Arctic testing

• All-new electric SUV with focus on performance
• Faster than an Alpine A110 R
• Full reveal on May 27th

We’re just weeks away from the full reveal of the new Alpine A390, the French brand’s hot electric SUV that promises to be even quicker than its Alpine A110 sports car. For the final stages of its development, engineers have taken the A390 to the Arctic Circle, where it’s been snapped performing some rather spectacular slides.

Along with these fresh pictures, Alpine has also confirmed a handful of technical details about the A390, including its dimensions and its triple-motor electric setup. Oh, and we’ve also had a go behind the wheel of the prototype on the ice, giving us a taster of its impressive performance.

What do we know so far about the Alpine A390?

Alpine is a brand that’s all about performance. When it was rebooted in 2017, it set off on the right foot with the widely-applauded A110 sports car, and its follow up was a very different – although equally appealing – electric hot hatchback called the A290.

But neither are particularly practical or family-friendly, so Alpine has decided that its third all-new model will branch out and enter the white-hot SUV market. Of course, performance will still take centre stage, combining speed and space in the same way that’s made cars like the Porsche Macan so popular over here.

So what do we actually know so far? Well for starters, Alpine doesn’t want to refer to the A390 as an SUV at all, instead calling it a ‘sport fastback’. In these latest images of the A390 in testing, it's certainly apparent that it has the raised ride height of an SUV, albeit with a sloping roofline gives it a profile similar to cars like the Polestar 4 or Cupra Tavascan.

What does the Alpine A390 look like?

The A390 has lost much of its camouflage since we spotted an early prototype testing at the start of the year. Many of the Alpine A390_β concept car’s details have made it to production by the looks of things, including the unusual front lighting design.

‘Cosmic Dust’ is the name that Alpine has given to the geometric lighting pattern, and it certainly adds a bit of drama to the pointy nose. There appears to be a rear light bar, too, but the illuminating ‘Alpine’ script from the concept car looks to have been ditched.

The A390’s performance credentials are on full display with the various aerodynamic elements dotted around the exterior. Blades integrated into the bonnet help to guide air over the top of the A390, while vents on either side of the front bumper should keep air flowing smoothly along its sides. There looks to be a pretty mighty rear diffuser, a bit like the Cupra Tavacan’s, but not nearly as dramatic as the one fitted to the A390_β concept car.

We now know the A390 will be 4,615mm long, making it the smallest EV out of the Tavascan, Ford Capri and Porsche Macan Electric. At 1,532mm tall, it’s also the lowest, helping to give off a sportier appearance. But it’s still an SUV at the end of the day – the A110 sports car is around 300mm lower.

How fast will the Alpine A390 be?

A family SUV it may be, but the A390 won’t be a slouch from what Alpine has recently confirmed. It will be offered with either a dual-motor or a flagship triple-motor setup. The latter will be the serious performance machine, with four-wheel drive and a potential power output of around 600bhp.

With one motor for both front wheels and an individual motor for each of the rear wheels, the A390 will be capable of torque vectoring, essentially allowing power to be distributed to whichever wheel needs it the most. This should help to improve agility and allow the A390 to “drive like an [Alpine] A110”, according to Alpine’s VP for product performance, Sovang Ang.

That’s a serious statement to make, given that the A110 is widely regarded as one of the best-handling sports cars of the past decade. The BMW iX2 and Porsche Macan Electric were floated by Ang as potential rivals for the A390, which leaves quite a broad margin for performance – the quickest iX2 has 302bhp, while the Macan tops out at 630bhp.

Exactly where the new A390 will fall on that performance spectrum remains to be seen, but Alpine has boasted that it will be even quicker than the track-focused Alpine A110 R, which should translate to a 0-62mph time of under four seconds. 

We know the A390 will use the Renault Group’s electric AmpR Medium platform, which also underpins the Renault Scenic and Nissan Ariya. A sporty Nissan Ariya Nismo has recently hit the market with a 429bhp dual-motor setup, but the Alpine is expected to be much faster than this – a fact we can vouch for after our prototype drive.

Alpine A390 prototype drive – Ellis Hyde

We’re still a while away from driving an Alpine A390 on British roads, but we couldn’t refuse an opportunity to have a go behind the wheel of a prototype on the ice in Lapland. It gave us a good overall impression of what to expect from the hot electric SUV when it arrives later this year.

We first must state the obvious – this is no Alpine A110. A big, heavy electric SUV is never going to feel the same from behind the wheel as Alpine’s featherweight two-seater, but there are still plenty of positive signs. Even at relatively low speeds on a slippery surface, the A390 felt more capable than the A290 hot hatch. Its steering felt intuitive, while its low centre-of-gravity and near 50-50 weight distribution helped to hide its mass through the corners.

In a straight line, the triple-motor A390 certainly felt faster than the 429bhp Nissan Ariya Nismo, so we have no doubt that it’s packing a whole lot more power than that car. The A110 sports car still has it beaten for steering feel and feedback, but the overall impression is that the A390 is great fun to drive. We’ll have to see if that remains the case once we get a finished production car and can drive it on UK tarmac.

When will the A390 arrive and what’s next for Alpine?

The full reveal of the Alpine A390 is scheduled for May 27th 2025, when full performance, specs and pricing details will be confirmed. 

Alpine won’t stop there, though. The brand is aiming to release one new model each year until 2028 as it expands into new market segments. After the A390 SUV, an electric successor to the A110 sports car is due, along with a convertible version the following year. 

The final piece of the puzzle will be a four-seater sports car to sit above the A110, giving the French brand a BMW M4 rival. Unlike the Alpine A290, all of these new models will be bespoke to Alpine – not heavily reworked versions of existing Renaults.

Alpine A390 prototype and A390_β concept car images

PreviousNext

1/19View Gallery

Find the latest new and used Alpine deals on our sister site Auto Express…