It’s a 2.1-tonne, family-sized electric SUV, made by a brand whose sporting reputation was built on an ethos of performance through light weight. And where did Alpine choose to launch this electric behemoth? Silverstone – a high speed circuit that takes absolutely no prisoners, merrily cooking a heavy EV’s batteries, motors, tyres and brakes for fun. Toutes les contradictions, but quite the statement of intent, n’est-ce pas?
We’ve been here before of course, when the only other brand famous for simplifying and adding lightness started churning out whopping great electric SUVs. The Lotus Eletre was met with a bemused eyebrow by the press, and indeed the buying public. And the Emeya – its low slung, Taycan-baiting sibling – hasn’t fared much better. Despite boasting all of the horsepower, it came last at Autocar’s 2024 handling test, and to date I have seen just one wearing number plates, out there in the wild.
So what fate awaits the latest, range-topping model from Alpine? The cynical amongst you might think it’s a textbook piece of badge engineering: take the £33,245 Renault Scenic E-Tech, stick an A110-reminiscent body on it, glitz up the interior, turn up the wick on the motors and – hey presto, you can now charge more than twice as much (£69,390).
