In May this year, Alpine – the French performance brand under Renault’s umbrella – unveiled the A290_β prototype as a hotter take on the upcoming revived Renault 5. At the time, it was announced that the production version of this concept would arrive at some point in 2024 and today, we can take the first look at what it is going to look like thanks to a batch of spy photos.
What you see depicted in the gallery below is an A290 trial vehicle with a fully camouflaged body. However, it is easy to see the overall profile won’t change much compared to the concept with the biggest change being the switch to a four-door body style versus the A290_β’s two-door layout.
We are happy to report some of the concept’s most extravagant design details are seemingly going to be kept for the production model. These include – first and foremost – the very unusual wheel design with a square cut in the center, though these will likely be smaller than the show car’s 20-inch size. Also, the front fascia, while fully disguised for the time being, looks quite aggressive with a very ornamented bumper. The hood features some weird aerodynamic components, though we don’t know whether they will stay there for the final production version or not.
One thing the A290 will lose compared to the concept is the central driver’s seat. As you can clearly see from this test prototype, the production model will have a traditional layout with the steering wheel on the left or right depending on the market. Don’t let that big screen on the passenger side fool you, too – it’s not part of the car’s interior and is most likely used for different measurements by the test drivers.
The electric hot hatch is expected to have two available electric powertrains with the most powerful one offering up to 270 horsepower. Both variants will be driven by the front wheels. We will know all the details when the A290 debuts next year. It will be followed by the GT-X Over crossover and the fully electric replacement for today’s A110 sports car.
