Alpine has expanded its range to three models with the arrival of the A390, an electric coupé SUV that will pitch into the growing EV market against cars like the Cupra Tavascan, Ford Capri – and maybe even the new electric Porsche Macan.
Don’t get too excited just yet, though. Although the A390 was unveiled at Alpine’s 70th birthday bash last week, the A390 won’t reach the UK until sometime in the second half of next year.
Described as a ‘sports fastback’, the Alpine A390 packs three electric motors under its sleek bodywork (one at the front, two at the rear) to form an all-wheel drive system that allows torque vectoring for cornering – where the outside rear wheel can push out more power while the inside rear wheel backs off, helping to make the car more agile.
The new A390 takes Alpine’s model range to three, alongside the Renault 5-based A290 small hatch and the ageing A110 sports car, which will be replaced by an all-new, all-electric A110 at the end of next year.
Under the skin, the Alpine A390 shares its platform with the more mundane Renault Scenic and Nissan Ariya SUVs, which is no bad thing as they’re both fine family EVs. But Alpine has turned the performance up to 11 to take the A390 into new territory.
Two versions will be available – the A390 GT and A390 GTS. The GT offers 400hp, which will produce a 0-62mph time of just under five seconds and a top speed of 125mph. The GTS builds this up 470hp, taking the 0-62mph time down to four seconds and a top speed of 138mph.
Both versions will be supplied by a 89kWh battery, which should yield a driving range of up to 350 miles in the base-spec GT – although official figures will be confirmed once UK specifications are confirmed. Fast charging should yield a 15%-80% charge time of about 25 minutes if you have access to a 190kW charger or better.
The A390 measures about 4.6 metres long, which is a bit shorter than the new Porsche Macan, but a low height of 1.5 metres gives it a slippery aerodynamic profile to maximise driving range and minimise wind noise. There’s room for five adults and a decent boot size of 532 litres.
There’s also a full suite of driver assistance systems, with driver attention monitoring with progressive emergency braking, automatic emergency braking in both forward and reverse, lane departure warning and, when parking, safe exit warnings.
A ‘My Safety’ button beside the steering wheel allows the driver to select their preferred assistance settings with a single touch, choosing whether to activate or deactivate them, their level of intervention and the presence of audible alerts. This is to help drivers get around the latest EU nanny regulations, which insist on reactivating systems that you have previously deactivated every time you start the car.
The A390 also features adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go as standard, and, depending on specification, a function that allows the car to move out of the way to let two-wheeled vehicles pass.
Alpine has yet to confirm UK pricing, but the GT is expected to start at around £60K, with the GTS about £10K more than that.
A special Alpine A390 Premiere Edition will be available when order books open in November, and deliveries are expected to commence in the second half of 2026.