After a four-year absence in the Australian market, France's Alpine is set to return as an electric performance brand, headlined by the new A390 medium SUV.
Renault’s Australian distributor, Ateco Automotive, has used the international revival of the Alpine A390 crossover to announce that the brand intends to return to Australia.
Last seen in 2022 with the A110 coupe, Alpine was left without a product to sell in Australia as changes to local side impact regulations were unable to be met the the A110.
Since then, Alpine has become Renault’s official performance division, taking over from Renault Sport, with their first new-generation product being a high-performance version of the Renault 5 electric hatchback.
“We are proud to announce the return of the iconic Alpine performance brand to Australia,” Glen Sealey, the general manager of Renault and Alpine Australia, said in a statement.
“We appreciate there is a lot of interest in this vehicle and Alpine’s future plans in Australia. However pricing, timing and specifications will be announced closer to local arrivals.”
Unlike the Alpine A290 hot hatch, which shares its body with the Renault 5, the newly revealed A390 is an Alpine-specific model.
Styling that blends a fastback SUV shape with Alpine signatures, like a quad-light front and deeply straked bonnet.
Renault designed the A390 with the goal of maintaining the A110’s driving experience in a more versatile package.
The A390 features a three-motor electric drivetrain with the first implementation of all-wheel drive on an Alpine model, despite the brand’s long-standing rally history.
The torque-vectoring all-wheel-drive system uses a single motor on the front axle, with two motors at the rear.
Based on the Renault Group’s AmpR Medium platform, the A390 shares underpinnings with the Renault Megane E-Tech and Scenic E-Tech, with comprehensive revisions to ensure it lives up to its performance potential.
Measuring 4615mm long, 1885mm wide and 1532mm tall the A390 is around 15mm longer, 30mm wider, but 153mm lower than a Toyota RAV4. It’s 2708mm wheelbase is also 18mm longer than that of Toyota’s medium SUV.
An 89kWh hour lithium-ion battery enables an estimated 520-555km of range, depending on the variants, with Alpine set to introduce GT and GTS models. Rather than Chinese-sourced, the battery in the A390 is designed and built by French specialist, Verkor.
A 15-80 per cent recharge takes less than 25 minutes on a 190kW charger, with the A390 able to recoup two hours of motorway driving in less than 20 minutes, according to Alpine.
The Alpine A390 GT features a combined 295kW and 650Nm with a 4.8-second 0-100kmh claimed acceleration time.
The A390 GT is equipped with 20-inch alloy wheels, Michelin Sport EV tyres, anodised brake calipers, heated electrically adjustable sports seats, nappa leather steering wheel, and a 13-speaker sound system from boutique audio brand, Devialet.
The driver faces a 12.3-inch digital driver’s display and 12-inch portrait infotainment systems, loaded with Alpine-specific graphics and animations. Google Maps and Google Assistant functions are built in.
The high-performance GTS bumps outputs to 345kW and 808Nm combined, dropping the sprint time to 3.9 seconds.
The GTS adds 21-inch forged wheels, Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S tyres, nappa-leather trimmed Sabelt front sports seat with electric adjustment, heating, and massage, a microfibre headlining, semi-autonomous driving and parking assistant, and an upgraded XtremeSound audio system from Devialet, still with 13 speakers.
Both models are capable of peak DC charging at up to 190kW, with 11kW AC bi-directional charging standard, and 22kW AC charging optional.
Alpine has also revealed a starting weight of 2121kg and a boot capacity of 532 litres with the rear seats in place.
Driver-selectable regeneration, from freewheeling to a full one-pedal drive mode, is available via a steering-wheel-mounted button inspired by Formula One. Augmented driving noise, called Alpine Drive Sound is available with Daily and Sport modes, the latter claimed to be reminiscent of the Alpine A110.
More details regarding timing, pricing and specifications for the Australian market are set to be revealed closer to the Alpine A380’s local launch.
Kez Casey migrated from behind spare parts counters to writing about cars over ten years ago. Raised by a family of automotive workers, Kez grew up in workshops and panel shops before making the switch to reviews and road tests for The Motor Report, Drive and CarAdvice.
