Oft-compared to Lotus, the Alpine brand has drifted in and out of focus over the years despite seven decades of idiosyncratic road cars and regular motorsport success. It’s currently in Formula One and the World Endurance Championship, and its A110 sports car is a masterpiece of lightweight analogue driving entertainment. No slouches, then.
On top of all this, a global expansion of Alpine is planned, too, seeing the brand enter new markets, including the US, where it's expected to launch a three-car electric lineup in 2027.
For now, as the future is electric, the requirement for greater global awareness rests with the A390. It’s an unusual proposition, on the face of it—a genuine five-door sports coupe that builds out on the design attributes that made the A110 so much more than a retro pastiche. You can see the connection in the side profile and shoulders, although the front end’s air curtains and bonnet blades have a model-specific aero functionality.
We’re less sure about the triangles etched into the nose (Alpine names them, quite unforgivably, “cosmic dust” for some reason), or the snowflake-aping alloy wheel design. Overall, though, it’s individual (Alpine is calling it a “race car in a suit”), and that’s a win given the soul-crushingly generic nature of so many new EVs.