► Alpine has built a rally-ready version of the A290
► It has a hydraulic handbrake and an FIA roll cage
► Yours for a shade over £51,000 (excluding VAT)
Alpine’s motorsport engineers will soon be quite un-busy. The brand will wind down its F1 engine development at the end of 2025 – and, with the F1 season already underway, there’s not much work left to do. So, to save themselves from boredom, Alpine’s best racing minds have been pouring their energy into this. The new A290 Rallye.
As the name suggests, it’s a rally-ready version of the Alpine A290 hot hatchback. It was designed to conform to the latest rally regulations, while acting as an affordable means for amateur drivers to get started in the sport.
Power and torque are identical to the standard car at 220hp and 300Nm, but you get a host of mechanical upgrades to make the platform better suited to the rough and tumble world of rallying. The changes include a ZF limited-slip differential, new dampers from ALP Racing, wider 18-inch EVO Corse wheels and Michelin Pilot Sport A tyres.
The brakes have been upgraded too – the Rallye has new, six-piston monobloc calipers with 350mm discs at the front and single-piston calipers with 280mm discs at the rear.
There are plenty of cosmetic tweaks, as well. You get wider wheel arches to cover the fatter wheels and tyres, a deeper front splitter, a matte black bonnet to cut down on a glare and a roof scoop to get some fresh air into the cabin on a sweaty special stage.
Alpine hasn’t neglected the safety gear, either. The interior gets a pair of Sabelt racing seats and a roll cage, both of which conform to current FIA regulations. So, once the brand has confirmed the rally class the A290 Rallye is allowed to compete in, you should be able to rock up to an event in the car as a privateer.
But the best part about the Alpine A290 Rallye is its hydraulic handbrake. As Alpine’s images show, that addition means you’ll be able to back it into corners like Jean Ragnotti. Perhaps my fear about the death of the manual handbrake was premature.
And the price of all this electric lairiness? £51,000 excluding VAT which, for a fully loaded, race-ready rally car doesn’t seem like bad value to me.
The A290 Rallye will make its dynamic debut at the 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed before being whisked off the Mont-Blanc rally in September. After that, Alpine plans to launch a single-make rally series for owners to compete in.