FRENCH sports car company Alpine has revealed clues to the look of its first small electric model called the A290_β.

Revealed as a show car, it is a three-seater and like the Alpenglow concept car revealed in 2022, the A290_β has the driver's seat in the centre.

Similar at a glance to the new Renault 5 design, it is part of Alpine's Dream Garage plan which also includes a compact sports car, a GT crossover and the A110's replacement - all of which will be fully electric.

The A290_β sits in the small sports car segment and is designed primarily for cities. Production will begin in 2024 at ElectriCity in Douai, in northern France and it will be built on the Renault Alliance's CMF-B EV platform for electric vehicles.

Laurent Rossi,Alpine's chief executive, said: "The A290_β is the first stage in Alpine's new era, the first step towards the all-electric Dream Garage in 2024. This urban show car has rewritten the playbook for electric hot hatches. The A290_β is tapping into its rich legacy and ushering Alpine into the future, with an everyday experience of the motorsport spirit that has inspired the brand since its inception."

Alpine says the decision to call the car A290_β is based on the brand's global naming strategy. The names start with the letter A, followed by three numbers. The number 2 stands for the B-segment and the 90stands for the brand's future Lifestyle range.

The Greek letter beta indicates an intermediate phase working up to the production vehicle's official launch in 2024.

Its electric motor will also be manufactured in France, in the Cleon Megafactory near Rouen.

The show car is 4.05 metres long, 1.85 metres wide and 1.48 metres high, and is a taster for a production car.

Alpine adds that while the production A290 will look a lot like the Alpine A290_β from the outside, the interior will be much more conceptual and based on architecture that puts the driver in the middle of the action.

The A290_β's steering wheel for example is directly inspired by Alpine's LMP2, A470 and Formula 1 A523 single-seaters. Its geometric gamepad-like design has a series of specific functions, including a red OV (Overtake) button to deliver a 10-second power boost. This button is also designed to optimise safety and can only be used when the track is dry and can only be pressed again after a 10 second wait.