Alpine Wants You to Race Its New Electric Hot Hatch

Alpine turns 70 this year, and to celebrate, it’s offering its first electric race car to customers. The brand based the car on its new A290 hot hatch. It’s called the A290 Rallye and features all the kit you’d expect from a proper rally car.

The electric motor sends 220 horsepower and 221 pound-feet of torque through a ZF limited-slip differential to the Rallye’s front wheels. It has five more hp than the range-topping road-going A290, which can hit 62 miles per hour in 6.4 seconds. Alpine says it updated the car’s gearbox and the electronic management systems to better handle the demands of stage rally driving.

The Rallye also has a modified suspension complete with ALP Racing shock absorbers, with 18-inch EVO Corse wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport A tires. Six-piston front brakes and single-piston rears with 13.8- and 11.0-inch discs provide the stopping power, which use a specific ABS tuning from Alpine Racing. And, of course, it has a hydraulic handbrake.

The car uses the same 52.0-kilowatt-hour battery as the regular A290, and it’ll also have a “new innovative system” that correlates the sound to the car’s speed and throttle position. Inside, it has a welded roll cage and Sabelt bucket seats, both of which comply with the FIA’s latest regulations.

The car costs €59,990, or $70,500 at today’s exchange rate. That buys you a complete, fully assembled, and painted car. This example with the white wheels and painted tires looks great. Alpine is organizing a single-rally challenge for before the end of the year that’ll bring all the A290 Rallyes together.