With 180 hp in the GT version and 220 hp in the GTS version, the Alpine A290 has a lot to offer for now. In 2025, many competitors like Cupra Raval, Lancia Ypsilon HF, and Volkswagen ID.2 GTI will join the competition. Could an Alpine A290 R, or rather an Alpine A290 “Turbo,” be able to outperform them?
Presented in mid-June at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the small Alpine A290 allows the arrowed A brand to take the turn towards 100% electric. This legitimate heir to the Renault Alpine launched in 1976 and its turbocharged variant launched in the early 1980s is also the first 5-door model in the range. The Alpine A290 has already unveiled two power levels: 180 and 220 hp to complete the range of its parent company, the Renault 5 E-Tech, which offers 95, 120, and 150 hp. This is a coherent offer in the Renault group.
But can the range of the Alpine A290 that is named GT with 180 hp and GTS with 220 horsepower under its hood stop there? Even more sharpened variants will have plenty of time to enhance the current offering during its career.
It is easier to boost an electric car than a thermal one. In the electric car domain, power and its transmission to the ground seem much easier to manage. Alfa Romeo recently claimed to have more power in its electric SUV Junior than initially promised. This trend is likely to continue with cars like Abarth 600 and Lancia Ypsilon HF competing with the Alpine A290 starting in 2025.
In the vein of the Renault 5 Turbo, the Cupra Raval and Volkswagen ID.2 GTI will provide stiff competition along with the Alpine A290. It would be a great way to introduce a version like the Abarth 695 in 2015 that features an added rear engine and a “biposto” configuration. The legacy of the Renault 5 Turbo from 1980, with its boosted 140 hp engine, paves the way for such developments with the Alpine A290 R or “Turbo.”