Alpine A290 hot hatch spotted with tamer styling, more conventional seating layout, and other concept car losses

Alpine made waves when it announced the A290_ß electric hot hatch based on the upcoming Renault 5 EV. The sporty EV concept featured some attractive, futuristic design cues and en LED-lid interior with a centre-mounted driver's seat. Now, Motor1 spy shots of what appear to be an Alpine A290 prototype out for a test drive reveal some of the changes we can expect to see from the production version.

While the Alpine A290 looks to be keeping the funky 20-inch square-pattern wheels from the concept, the front interior of the car looks much more conventional than its progenitor. Instead of a single-seater arrangement, the driver now sits in a more standard left-hand-drive seat.

The A290 bears the same aggressive styling as the concept, but appears to have a much less pronounced front bumper. The test mule is also a five-door design, instead of the three-door concept, and the doors on the test mule look to have some three-dimensional features that somewhat resemble the Airbumps found in Citroën vehicles of yesteryear. 

At the rear, both the top spoiler and the ducktail across the middle of the boot lid seem to have stuck around, while the vertical brake light on the boot lid has become a more traditional horizontal light bar. The rear panel still appears to terminate in a prominent diffuser.

Unfortunately, the camouflage does a decent job of hiding the lighting of the A290, both the front headlights and the tail lights appear to bear at least some resemblance to what was previewed in the concept car. The A290's silhouette, while not unpleasant, isn't quite as unique as the concept car's, which is sure to disappoint some die-hard hatchback fans.

If you want to peer at the spy shots yourself, head over to the Motor1article.

Alpine is expected to launch the production A290 electric hot hatch in 2024.

Buy a Heller Renault R5 Turbo Car Model Building Kit on Amazon.