Alpine A290 - The Electric Hot Hatch That Refuses To Behave.

The Alpine A290 is Renault’s cheeky little electric hot hatch, and it’s coming to revive the joy of fun-sized performance cars without the petrol bill. Think of it as the French answer to the Mini Cooper SE or Abarth 500e — but with Alpine’s racing pedigree baked in.

This isn’t just a rebadged Renault 5 EV. Alpine has taken that retro-futuristic city car and given it the gym membership treatment: sharper suspension, wider track, sportier stance. You can picture it parked outside a café in Marseille, daring you to order an espresso you don’t actually like, just so you look like you belong with it.

The numbers? Around 215–220 bhp, front-wheel drive, and the promise of hot hatch fizz in an electric age. Alpine is talking about keeping it properly lightweight (well, “lightweight for an EV”, which is a bit like saying “low-calorie cheesecake”). There’s also chatter about a dual-motor, all-wheel-drive version later — more torque, more grip, and more ways to embarrass that bloke in the Golf GTI at the lights.

And the design… sharp, playful, and distinctly Alpine. The quad headlights nod back to Alpine’s rally days, while the stance screams “daily driver that moonlights as your weekend toy.” Inside, you’ll get sporty seats, a focused digital cockpit, and just enough tech to make it feel modern without drowning you in screens.

But the real hook here? It’s an EV that doesn’t want to be sensible. Most electric hatchbacks talk efficiency, range, and eco credentials like they’re pitching you a yoga retreat. The A290 is different. It wants to make you grin like a kid on a Scalextric set.

Imagine Mario Kart, but in real life — only instead of banana skins and blue shells, your biggest worry is whether you’ve remembered to plug in overnight.