When not fielding Formula One cars at Grand Prix races around the world, Renault’s performance gurus at Alpine are still looking for ways to enter an arguably tougher competition: the auto market in the United States. As if F1 wasn’t hard enough for the BWT Alpine team, Alpine’s road car division has been looking to make the leap across the pond to give us something we’ve been asking to have for almost 10 years.
Originally planning to ship its upcoming electric crossovers to the US, Alpine decided to back away from its plans due to tariffs imposed by President Trump and a volatile electric vehicle marketshifting faster than companies can adapt. The company is supposedly crash-testing the successor to the A110, which means Alpine might be one step closer to selling its sports car on our shores. C’est magnifique!
2027 Was Supposed To Be Alpine’s American Premiere
Alpine A110 R Ultime Blue Front AngleAlpine
Bonjour, Les Américains! Prêt à faire la fête? Why yes, we are ready to party, Alpine.
Feeling like our prom dates have stood us up, Alpine has been promising a US debut for 2027 since the plan was first mentioned in 2023. If everything had gone according to plan, the French brand would have launched in America at the same time the next-generation A110 was ready to ship.
Homologating an electric car for the US is far easier than getting approval for a new gasoline powertrain, which likely delayed Alpine’s moves to enter the market until now. Since the brand is part of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, the marque hoped to tap into the Nissan dealer network in the country to sell its new models. However, there has been no word to dealers just yet, mainly because Nissan has been dealing with its own problems.
Alpine A390 cold weather testsAlpine
Alpine is working on a Porsche Cayenne-sized electric SUV dubbed the A590 that is said to be ready by 2030. If Alpine’s US expansion plan works, the model could be the fledgling brand’s volume seller and possibly fund any further sports cars that follow. As it would seem, Alpine is working on fast-tracking the same method that saved Porsche in the late 1990s by offering cars that can sell in droves to generate the capital required to produce vehicles which are core to the brand’s philosophy.
Not only is Alpine going after Porsche with its next large crossover, or even the existing, smaller A390, but the company has also hinted at a Porsche 911 rival with the next-generation A110, thanks to its newly developed Alpine Performance Platform (APP). This will include the two-seat coupe in both gasoline and electric variants, a convertible, and a larger 2+2 version that would pit it against the 911 and Mercedes-AMG GT.
More Answers Coming Soon
Alpine Performance Platform (APP) Debuting In Next-Generation A110Alpine
At the 2026 Goodwood Festival of Speed, Alpine plans to unveil the next-gen A110 (then promptly ripping it around the famous Stewards Cup Course). If the company doesn’t say anything official about the plans to expand into the US, expect the automotive journalists in attendance to ask about the state of things.
If Porsche doesn’t figure out what it will do with the next round of Boxster and Caymans, Alpine has a real chance of selling the A110 to more people than it originally planned on. For years, both the Alpine and the A110 have been an “if you know, you know” affair, and its US arrival could change the course for both the brand and the rest of Europe. If successful, Alpine and the Renault Group as a whole would be the first European brand to return to America with mass-produced models since Fiat in 2011 and Alfa Romeo in 2015.
1983 Renault Le Car Gold Front AngleBring a Trailer
The last vehicle to wear the Renault diamond this side of the Atlantic was the Medallion, which saw the end of Renault’s partnership with AMC in the late 1980s. Before that, the quirky Le Car and Alliance helped keep the brand on the lips of the populace before Renault sold its controlling stake in AMC to the Chrysler Corporation in 1987. Renault even set up shop at an existing AMC factory in Wisconsin to build models in America.
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Alpine Still Might Bring Over an Electric Crossover
2027 Alpine A390 GTS ExteriorAlpine
Alpine currently offers two vehicles: the A390 electric SUV and the A290 hot hatch, which is a hopped-up performance variant of the Renault 5 E-Tech. Originally, the plan was to sell the A110 in the US by 2027 alongside the A590 electric SUV. That was then, and this is now.
The A390 is designed to compete with the Porsche Macan EV and is roughly priced the same as its German rival. At roughly $81,082, the A390 sets itself up to compete directly with the Macan, as well as the Cadillac Lyriq-V and Audi SQ6 Sportback E-Tron.
Model
Base Price
Power
Range
Alpine A390
$81,082
400 HP
345 miles
Porsche Macan EV
$80,300
355 HP
332 miles
Cadillac Lyriq-V
$78,595
615 HP
285 miles
Audi SQ6 Sportback E-Tron
$75,600
509 HP
276 miles
Sitting 6.7 inches shorter overall than the Macan EV and 7.3 inches shorter in wheelbase, the A390 already sets itself up for nimbler handling than the others offer due to its smaller stature. Alpine, however, thinks size matters little and still incorporated a torque-vectoring system to dictate where power is sent in tight corners. Healthier than the competition at 4,676 pounds, the A390 weighs in at 328 pounds less than the Porsche.
This is only one of the seven electric vehicles Alpine promises by 2030. However, the one most likely to fit the US market, since the market for crossover-sized but liftback-shaped cars is growing with additions like the Toyota C-HR and Subaru Uncharted. The smaller A290 coming to the US is likely a pipe dream for now, unless the hatchback market suddenly grows back overnight to give Alpine enough reason to bring over a Mini Cooper competitor alongside the A110. What a two-car garage that would make for.
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Either Way, Brush Up on Your French
Alpine A110 R 70 overheadAlpine
Whether or not Alpine comes to America, there’s still cause to talk about the brand as it continues to grow into a powerhouse capable of battling Porsche where it counts. If the Goodwood Festival of Speed proves no help to us wondering when the brand might set up shop, surely the announcement of its larger SUV could herald the news dedicated fans are dying to hear. Alpine has been in the game as a stand-alone brand far longer than some others.
The name Alpine has meant different things at different points in automotive history, but the Alpine we know today has been associated with sports cars built with Renault parts since 1955, with the first A106 ‘Coach,’ a two-door sports coupe based on the Renault 4CV. This evolved into decades of road cars with racing pedigree, with the top of the heap being the original A110 with staggering wins at the Monte Carlo Rally and WRC in the 1970s when it was competing against Porsche and Lancia. The new A110 was launched in 2017 to revive the brand after it had been dormant for nearly 20 years.
A US arrival with its upcoming sports car built on the scalable APP architecture and a fleet of electric vehicles puts it in strong standing to earn the comeback of the century. Crash testing is a promising sign for a company looking to enter this market, just as committing to a large crossover is with the intent to build it for the US market. Will 2027 still be the year for Alpine’s arrival? We’ll be finding out very soon.
Sources: Alpine, Audi, Cadillac, Porsche, Autoexpress, Carscoops, Car and Driver, Goodwood, Motor1
