Alpine’s upcoming all-electric hatchback will be a beefed-up version of the revived Renault 5, equipped with the most powerful electric motor from the new Megane EV crossover, confirmed the company’s chief engineering officer.
The iconic sports car brand is set to transition to pure electric models by the mid-2020s, partly because the existing A110 is produced in volumes too small to justify the cost of passing it through Euro7 emissions regulations. Alpine has already teased three models, labeled as a ‘dream garage’: a large SUV with an aggressive coupe roofline, a sports car developed in collaboration with Lotus, and a chunky, muscular-looking hot hatch featuring a large roof spoiler.
Speaking to international media after Renault’s latest electric technology presentation, the company’s executive vice president of engineering, Gilles le Borgne, confirmed not only that the Alpine would be a warmed-up version of the funky reborn Renault 5 but also that it would use a single front-mounted motor producing 215bhp. Depending on weight and gearing, the instant hit of the electric unit could deliver a 0 to 100 km/h time of around six seconds.
Le Borgne added that the SUV is likely to feature a multi-motor setup to help deliver more agile handling. “For the CMF-EV platform, we will keep the 215bhp electric motor at the front,” he said, “and at the rear, we’ll have a big surprise. We want to do torque vectoring, have really amazing handling and performance, as you can imagine, for an Alpine. We are working on that.” He said there are “no current plans” to offer such a design in the hot hatch.
The R5 Alpine is likely to have the largest battery offered on the CMF-BEV platform: 52 kWh, with a range of over 200 miles. The chassis itself should lend itself to higher performance, with likely MacPherson struts at the front (CMF-BEV shares many components with the CMF-B platform that underpins the current Clio) and a multi-link design at the rear.
Le Borgne confirmed that work is underway with Lotus on the sports car, indeed, the successor to the A110, but he refused to provide specific details on progress. “You have to have two to tango, so it’s not me who announces anything here,” he said, “but it’s progressing quite well.”
