Alpine A390 Review: Price, Specs, Availability

The A390’s electric motors are produced in a dedicated facility in Cléon, the NMC batteries come from a company called Verkor, but with modules produced in Dunkirk and assembled at the Renault plant in Douai. At the same time, this chassis was designed and built at the company’s Le Mans factory.

Like the smaller A290 and indeed with different Renaults (4, 5 and the new Twingo), this electric car is committed to the French. Alpine not only draws on its eccentric past, but is an avatar for the band’s technical prowess.

The platform is an evolution of the AmpR Medium architecture that’s in service under the Megane E-Tech and Scenic, and the Nissan Aria and Leaf, which is a necessary synergy given the huge cost of developing these. But considerable effort has gone into making the A390 stand out and justifying Porsche’s investment and ambitions.

“The driving force behind the dynamics of the A390 was to make it as fast and agile as the A110,” said Robert Bonto, vice president of automotive projects. To achieve this goal, we had to eliminate the impact of battery weight with a technical solution to increase the perceived lightness.

Courtesy of Thomas Cortezi/Alpine

“Understanding” is the key word here. The A110 is a die-hard fan favorite as it weighs just 1,140kg, a remarkable achievement in this day and age. The A390 is almost double that, inevitable given the propulsion mode, but it’s as close to Alpine’s original mandate as possible. The 89 kWh battery uses a new chemistry and cooling system for more stable power and performance and more efficient charging and discharging.

The A390 is also unique in its segment by having three motors, one coilover on the front axle and two permanent synchronous motors in each of the rear wheels, with a total power output of 396bhp in the GT model, rising to 463bhp in GTS form.