The Alpine A390_β SUV concept is an "A110 with five seats"

This is the Alpine A390_β, and if we break down its name we’ll be able to understand exactly what it is. All of Alpine’s models begin with an A, and the 3 refers to the size of the car. So yes, this thing is bigger than the A290 hot hatch.

Alpine says the 90 refers to its “multi-purpose, everyday vehicles” as it prepares to diversify its offering from just the A110 sports car. And then there’s the Greek letter beta, which tells us this is still a concept car for now, but that it’ll soon be a proper production car.

In fact, Alpine says the exterior is 85 per cent true to the future A390 you'll see on the road. The design apparently draws inspiration from the Alps, and the shape apparently “resembles a monolithic bubble”. Love us some monolithic bubbles.

“A390_β previews the future Alpine sport fastback, which we have designed like an A110 with five seats,” says Alpine boss Philippe Krief. “The duality between the racing spirit and the refinement of this show car embodies the performance and driving experience that we will deliver from 2025 onwards in our production vehicle, produced in France at the historic Dieppe Manufacture.”

The A390_β gets lighting inspired by the Alpenglow hydrogen racer, with light bars at both the front and rear sitting above “a swarm of illuminated triangles” that Alpine refers to as Cosmic Dust. Up front there’s a flying bridge that directs air up and over the car, while the rear is described as ‘more conceptual’ with a Le Mans-inspired shark fin and a giant rear diffuser. That light bar can also extend by 80mm to transform the A390_β into a longtail SUV to reduce drag.

The wheels – apparently inspired by snowflakes – are 22in up front and 23in at the rear, with a blue gemstone mounted at their centre. Yeah, they probably won’t make production.

The interior won’t either, with Alpine saying the A390_β’s cabin is “deliberately conceptual”. There are suicide doors that open up to reveal carbon front seats with 3D printed headrests. Alpine apparently scanned its F1 seats to create these, and with a press of a button you can switch the A390_β’s driving position to ‘F1 mode’ with raised pedals and a reclined chair.

There are Sabelt harnesses up front too, while the steering wheel is also F1-inspired and houses an ‘ice crystal’ that acts as the vehicle key. There are three glass slats behind the wheel that create a holographic effect to display the dials.

The rear bench seat is made from memory foam and is built from one piece to “give passengers the impression of being the first ones to step onto a blanket of pure snow”. The floor is made from carbon fibre, and below that is a battery of unconfirmed capacity.

The production A390 will be based on the Renault Group’s AmpR Medium platform that also underpins the Nissan Ariya and Renault’s own Megane E-Tech and Scenic E-Tech. The Alpine will use a sporty three-motor setup though with two mounted on the rear axle and one on the front. There’s no word on power just yet, but we know there will be non-permanent four-wheel drive and active torque vectoring.

Reckon all of that’s enough to help a coupe SUV drive like an A110? We’ll find out for certain in 2025.