Alpine’s transition to electric performance has taken a major technical leap with the launch of the A390. The all‑new fastback sports car is not only the company’s first five‑seat EV but also the first to showcase a fully independent three‑motor drive system with a proprietary torque vectoring architecture. Designed to replicate the agility of Alpine’s lightweight heritage models in an all‑electric format, it brings together control software, high‑speed torque modulation and chassis integration that signal a new approach to dynamic management in electric sports cars.

When Alpine’s engineers began work on the A390, they faced a challenge beyond designing another fast electric car. They wanted to create a system that would make a heavier all‑electric sports car feel as sharp and connected as its smaller combustion sibling, the A110. That ambition led to a new control philosophy built around instantaneous torque response, culminating in the company’s most advanced electronic chassis system to date, Alpine Active Torque Vectoring.

The A390’s three‑motor architecture provided the starting point. A motor on the front axle handles all‑wheel drive while two independent units at the rear power each wheel separately. This layout gave the control systems team, led by engineer Constance Leraud‑Reyser, the freedom to move beyond mechanical differentials and explore dynamic distribution of torque in real time. Over five years of development, they refined an algorithm capable of shifting anywhere from zero to 100 percent of torque between the rear wheels, in milliseconds, guided by steering angle, wheel speed and slip data.

The result is a control loop that doesn’t simply correct for understeer or oversteer, but anticipates it. On turn‑in, the system can increase torque to the outer rear wheel to rotate the car into the bend, while easing power on the inner wheel to stabilise the chassis. When grip levels change, torque is rebalanced instantly, keeping the platform neutral and the driver confident. For Leraud‑Reyser, the key achievement is the sense of lightness it brings, as the A390 reacts to steering inputs with the immediacy of a smaller, mid‑engined car despite its higher mass.

Three integrated systems manage this coordination. Alpine Torque Pre‑Control sets the base for traction, smoothing power delivery at low grip. The e‑AWD system splits drive between the front and rear axles to maintain overall balance, while Active Torque Vectoring supervises each rear wheel independently to fine‑tune cornering behaviour. This network communicates over high‑speed links, synchronising torque commands every few milliseconds to make its corrections transparent to the driver.

The numbers are impressive – over 400 horsepower, more than 800 Newton‑metres of torque, and 0‑100 km/h in under four seconds – but Alpine’s approach has always been to make figures serve feel. On a dry circuit, the A390’s instantaneous torque transfer makes the car pivot cleanly through tight turns; on a slick surface, its safety logic quietly reins in slip by directing torque to the wheel with grip, avoiding abrupt traction‑control cuts.

A telemetry interface on the display allows drivers to see this system at work, showing live data from the torque vectoring control unit. Five driving modes – Save, Normal, Sport, Personalised and Track – adjust how the algorithms prioritise efficiency, agility or stability. In Sport and Track, the system sharpens torque bias to heighten rotation and feedback; in the calmer modes, it focuses on range and poise for everyday driving.

Through the A390, Alpine’s engineers have demonstrated how much character can be instilled through software‑defined dynamics. By linking each motor to a predictive control strategy, they have built an electric powertrain that responds like a living mechanical system. “Behind the wheel,” says Leraud‑Reyser, “you forget the mass entirely. What you feel is the connection, the precision – that’s the essence of Alpine.”

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