Confirmed for Australia! 2026 Alpine A390 tri-motor terror coming to fight the Porsche Macan

May 30, 2025July 4, 2025 John Mahoney 5754 Views a390, alpine, ev

Hot on the heels of the Xiaomi YU7, the mid-size luxury SUV segment has grown again with the arrival of the 2026 Alpine A390 SUV.

And it’s been locked in for an Australian launch in the next two years!

“We are proud to announce the return of the iconic Alpine performance brand to Australia,” said Glen Sealey, Alpine Australia’s boss.

“We appreciate there is a lot of interest in this vehicle and Alpine’s future plans in Australia. However, pricing, timing and specifications will be announced closer to local arrivals.”

Making its debut in its hometown of Dieppe overnight, the all-new Alpine A390 blends a stunning design with the French sport car brand’s next generation triple-motor powertrain that’s claimed to help it handle just like the firm’s ultra-lightweight A110 coupe.

According to local importer Ateco, it’s too early for pricing, but when it arrives in the UK market the A390 has been tipped to be positioned as a direct Porsche Macan rival, with pricing set to kick off at around £60,000 ($125,000) for the cheapest version

Set to relaunch the Alpine brand in Australia, the new A390 is the long-awaited follow up to the little A110 coupe that was sold Down Under from 2018 to 2022.

The second model in Alpine’s Dream Garage, the all-new A390 joins the Renault 5 E-Tech-based A290 hatch and will be followed shortly after by the battery-powered A110 coupe replacement.

All three likely to eventually be sold in Australia.

Looking almost identical to the Alpine A390 Beta show concept, the new production spec mid-sizer stays true to the Paris motor show car, keeping its dramatic exterior styling.

It is said to feature aerodynamics borrowed from both the motorsport-inspired Alpenglow concept and the A424 LMDh Le Mans endurance racer that was designed alongside it.

The numerous aero parts include a neat front aero wing, large front air curtains and a rear roof that is with a 17-degree rake.

The rear diffuser, meanwhile, is angled by eight-degrees – with both figures found optimal after 100s of hours of wind testing the LMDh racer.

Underpinned by the Renault Megane E-Tech’s CMF-EV platform (rebranded AmpR Medium), the A390 measures 4615mm long, 1885mm wide and stands just 1532mm tall.

Those figures make it much smaller than the Porsche Macan. The A390 is 160mm shorter, 53mm narrower and 90mm lower to the ground beside its German rival.

That means the Alpine is expected to offer less space within, although boot space (532 litres) is only eight litres less than the German.

The benefit of its smaller size is the Alpine weighs 2121kg – which isn’t light by any measure – but is a considerable 209kg less than a dual-motor Porsche Macan 4.

In Europe two version are available – a GT version and a flagship GTS.

The base GT produces 295kW and 650Nm of torque for a 4.8 second 0-100km/h dash and a 200km/h top speed. The flagship GTS packs 345kW and 808Nm of torque.

The first Alpine model to have all-wheel drive, the A390 GTS takes 3.9 seconds to hit 100km/h from rest and tops out at 220km/h.

Just one 89kWh nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) battery is available that is unique to Alpine and is made by French battery producer Verkor. It can develop maximum power even at a lowly 30 per cent state of charge.

While the GT can cover up to 555km on 20-inch tyres, the GTS needs topping up after 520km on larger 21-inch rims with grippier rubber.

Limiting charging speed is the A390’s 400-volt electrics. It caps DC charging at 190kW with a 15-80 per cent top up taking less than 25 minutes.

That’s some way off the 800-volt Macan that can accept a 270kW recharge with a 10-80 per cent top up of its more energy-dense 101kWh battery taking 21 minutes.

Helping make up the deficit in Europe is the A390 gets both vehicle-to-load (V2L) and a vehicle-to-grid (V2G) capability – the latter helps owners lower the cost of top-ups by being able to sell back electricity at peak times to the grid.

Despite its still-considerable weight, engineers say the A390 feels like a five-door A110 coupe behind the wheel thanks to its Alpine Active Torque Vectoring.

The new tech sees each rear motor drive a single wheel, enabling both to replicate an infinitely variable limited-slip differential. The result is a car that offers balanced handling and is much safer and easier to drive in slippery conditions.

Changes compared to the Megane E-Tech are numerous, with new suspension that includes hydraulic bump stops for more comfort and the addition of a high-performance brake package that includes 365mm front discs clamped by six-piston callipers.

Within, the A390 is much more conventional than its exterior might suggest, but looks and feels a cut above the A110 and A290 hatch with a dash, centre console and door panels wrapped with real leather.

A large 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster combined with a Google-powered 12-inch infotainment means the Alpine SUV doesn’t lack for tech.

Ahead of the driver is a flat-bottomed steering wheel covered in Nappa leather that features a drive mode selector allowing you choose between Save, Normal, Sport, Perso and a new track setting.

All adjust torque vectoring, stability control and traction control.

Like the A290 that it shares its steering wheel with, there’s button marked ‘OV for ‘overtake’ that dishes up maximum power instantly for 10 seconds. The system needs a full 30 seconds then to regroup before giving you another 10 sec burst.

However, after 15 seconds Alpine allows a brief 5 second of the full beans.

Range-topping versions also come with grippier Sabelt seats.

European spec A390 GTs ride on 20-inch alloy wheels, get heated electric sport seats, a Nappa leather steering wheel, 360-degree camera and a 13-speaker 850-watt Devialet sound system.

The GTS features the Sabelt bucket seats that also offer electric adjustment, and a massage function a premium version of the sound system, onboard telematics and a more sophisticated adaptive cruise with lane centring and an auto-park feature.

The fastest GTS sports the larger 21-inch rims that are shod with stickier Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres, in place of the GT’s Michelin Sport EV tyres. Both sets of tyres were developed especially for Alpine.