Alpine dropped jaws across the automotive world when it pulled the covers off the stunning Alpenglow hypercar concept car at the 2022 Paris Motor Show. It then followed up the show car in 2024 with the fully operational, hydrogen-powered Alpenglow Hy4. At that point, you could be forgiven for expecting that a production Alpine supercar was just around the corner.
In fact, a supercar or hypercar remains very much on the wishlist of Alpine CEO, Philippe Krief. The ex-Ferrari engineer has worked on models including the Ferrari 458 Speciale that ushered out the mid-mounted V8, and the 296 GTB, which ushered in V6 plug-in hybrid tech, and he believes in the value of a halo model – if it’s done right.
“The purpose of a supercar is to build awareness for a brand, explore new technologies that can feed back into the brand and make some money,” he told Auto Express at the launch of Alpine’s A390 coupe-SUV in southern Spain.
“If you ask me if we could build a supercar with our small team, I would probably say yes. If you asked me if it would make money, probably not.
“Technically we could do a supercar relatively quickly but we’re not ready as an organisation,” he added. ” We will use Alpenglow for communications, as a laboratory of innovation and technology, but before the last step we really need to grow as a brand… to ensure that we can deliver the kind of customer experience that supercar buyers are used to”
The Alpenglow may eventually have a big influence on an Alpine supercar, but before that it will certainly affect how future mainstream Alpine models look. The forthcoming electric A110 and A310 coupe and convertible will borrow from the concept’s design, particularly around the front end where the V-shaped nose and intricate lighting treatments have already been referenced on the A390.
