Alpine A290 GTS delivers a hot hatch EV that comes with F1-style ‘overtake button’

HERE’s the first afford­able(ish) hot hatch from an F1 team.

It’s got F1-style steering wheel controls. OV for “overtake” and RCH for “recharge”.

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It looks racy. Body kit. Big wheels. Brembo brakes. Square X-motif spotlights.

It’s a real hoot to throw around a twisty go-kart track.

All from £33k.

Where do I sign?

Actually, I’m not sure I would.

Not yet anyway.

But first, a bit of housekeeping.

This car is called the Alpine A290. Not very catchy, is it? Bit of a mouthful.

It might mean something to the French.

But for us, A290 is a dodgy road between Canterbury and Whitstable in Kent.

When really this car is based on the already-brilliant Renault 5.

So why not call it Alpine R5?

Strong name. Everyone knows exactly what it is. Might even sell more.

For the purposes of this review, we’ll just call it Alpine R5 from here on out.

Technically, the Alpine R5 is a well-sorted box of tricks.

Our French friends have completely reworked the suspension, pushed the wheels out wider, hiked the e-motor to 220hp, added torque management and other geeky ­engineering-y stuff.

The result is a fast, grippy, playful electric hot hatch that could easily handle more power.

That’s why I’d wait. One Alpine engineer promised this car would get “more animated over time”.

The centre console has proper D-N-R transmission buttons (drive, neutral, reverse) like Alpine’s only other road car, the connoisseur A110 sports car.

That’s good. The regular R5 has a stalk on the steering wheel that’s easily confused with the wipers.

You often end up cleaning the wind­screen when trying to select reverse.

You should nudge 200 miles in the real world

The Google-powered touchscreen carries loads of technology — including coaching and track-day challenges.

The seats are comfy and well bolstered. You sit nice and low.

But I do have a few grumbles. Like, where’s the cup holders? Ooops. There are none. Non. Alpine is rushing out a clip-on 3D-printed accessory.

Also. Those F1-style steering wheel controls were clearly dreamed up by marketeers in business suits and not engineers in race suits, if you know what I mean.

Don’t get me wrong, the yoof will think they’re cool.

But the red OV button for “overtake” doesn’t give you any more power than burying your right foot in the carpet. So it’s a bit of a gimmick.

The blue RCH dial for “recharge” does adjust the braking regener­ation levels.

But you can’t adjust it when you’re busy gripping the tiller with both hands.

Flappy paddles would be much more entertaining, allowing you to mimic changing down gears approaching a bend. The engineers know this.

Much like the regular R5, Alpine R5 works everywhere — in sticky stop/start traffic, on a motorway, and most definitely on a twisty B-road. It’s an easy everyday car.

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The multi-link rear axle improves comfort and dynamics. The boot is a handy 326 litres.

You should nudge 200 miles in the real world. Recharge the battery to 80 per cent in 30 minutes.

How much is it? The base 180hp Alpine R5 GT costs £33,500 — £4k more than the top Renault 5 with the same power. The Alpine R5 GTS with 220hp is £38k.

Paint them blue and pink, like Clarkson’s favourite F1 cars, and they should sell well.