It’s a big surprise to see the Renault Emblem concept car, or rather demonstrator, at the Paris Motor Show. Surprise, because it won’t be geographically very far from the concept for the next compact Alpine sport fastback, the A390, on its stand at the Mondial, which will make its appearance on the brand’s media site on 11 October in the form of an ‘A390_β’ show car, while the latter will make its world premiere in Paris at the Mondial de l’Auto below.
Of course, the A390 has yet to reveal all its secrets, although there is talk of it being 4.40m long and of a first version with four-wheel drive and three EV engines. Above all, this five-door Alpine sport fastback will enable the brand to build up a substantial volume, enabling it to achieve in the short term (2026) the double-digit margin announced by Luca de Meo in June 2023. But let’s not talk about volume, because Luca de Meo never talks about volume!
But, you may ask, why mention Alpine at the presentation of the Emblem demonstrator above? Because this shooting-brake, which combines ‘ elegance and fluidity, and is the symbol of a design conceived to optimise aerodynamics and maximise efficiency ’, at 4.80 m, comes close to the size of Alpine’s other future crossover, the A590*, scheduled for 2027. The A590 is intended for the American and Chinese markets in particular. And its 4.80 m seems to be a good basis for the future size of this second electric crossover. Not to mention its dynamic styling.
The connections between Renault and Alpine are not just due to the fact that the Emblem demonstrator has benefited from Alpine’s work in developing its flat-bottom ‘ F1-inspired design, enhanced by an active diffuser that tilts down and back to balance airflow and minimise aerodynamic drag ’, as Renault points out. Or that ‘ the design has been honed using state-of-the-art digital simulation equipment provided by the Alpine F1 team ’. Do you think LIGNES/auto is getting ahead of itself? Not really… We can’t help believing that this Renault would make a very fine Alpine A590.
Why should that be? Because, first and foremost, its design breaks with Renault’s current formal language. Logical, you might say: Gilles Vidal wants to put his stamp on Renault design for the long term. So be it, but the option of a dynamic crossover concept will no doubt also be retained for the Alpine A590… even if the volume of the latter would be a little more generous to satisfy the Americans. Renault could contradict us by explaining that this dynamic concept theme was necessary in the study of the Emblem demonstrator in order to achieve the excellent 0.25 Cx value.
So let’s dive under the bonnet – or rather under the boot, because Emblème is a rear-wheel drive car – to show us what else Alpine has in common: hydrogen. Last May, Alpine’s communications department revealed the technical characteristics of the Alpenglow HY4, which is powered by a hydrogen engine. Initially, the Alpenglow will be powered by a four-cylinder internal combustion engine, then it will be equipped with an all-new V6 specifically designed to run on hydrogen. Alpine is working on this technology in the same way as Renault.
Except that the Emblème demonstrator has no internal combustion engine, but a dual-energy electric powertrain: Emblème drives either fully electrically via its 160 kW EV motor with a small 40 kWh battery, or via its fuel cell powered by a small hydrogen tank. In this respect, Emblème is reminiscent of the Scénic concept car unveiled in 2022 below with Gilles Vidal, which inaugurated the ‘H2-Tech’ powertrain equipped with a 16 kW fuel cell (30 kW on Emblème). This powertrain is based on range extender technology, ‘ which enables the Scénic Vision to carry a battery that is twice as light, for the same range, thereby contributing to decarbonisation beyond the electrification of the vehicle ’.
The powertrain of the Emblème demonstrator unveiled at the Paris Motor Show – which promises to emit 90% less CO2 than an equivalent model today, from design to end of life – means that ‘ the EV engine can maintain a range of several hundred kilometres, which is more than enough for everyday journeys, while the fuel cell, supplied with hydrogen via a 2.8-kilogram tank, provides the energy needed for longer journeys ’. So, the Renault Emblem is certainly closer to the Scénic Vision concept below than to the Alpine Alpenglow, but reconnects these commonalities with what could be the future Alpine A590 with a futuristic powertrain and, above all, with hydrogen…
It’s a parallel that takes us all the way back to last month, when Alpine announced the transformation of the Viry-Châtillon factory (we won’t go back over the abandonment of the development of the F1 engine, which meant the end of 50 years of innovative design of the various F1 engines…) into the Hypertech Alpine centre, which will work ‘ from the very first days on the Group’s and the brand’s projects for the future ’. And that means Alpine and Renault’s hydrogen projects. In June 2023, Luca de Meo spoke of the special positioning of the Alpine brand ‘ which will not resemble that of Renault. ’
However, with the A390 in the first instance, followed by the larger A590 by 2027, the links between the two brands will become closer. Alpine is pushing its range upwards – in the same way as Renault… – with cars of the European size (3.90 to 4.65 m) and others more ambitious for its expansion in the United States and Asia. The average price of Alpine cars, like those of Renault cars, will therefore increase, as will the margin. However, it will be easier for Alpine to achieve the famous double-digit margin by 2026, or even 2030.
The days when Renault paid royalties to Alpine for every Renault model sold with the ‘Esprit Alpine’ finish are long gone. Initially, Luca de Meo’s idea of offering the Alpine spirit on Renault models was intended to ‘pay’ for the development of the Dieppe-based brand’s product strategy. But the old Renault models with the ‘Renault Sport’ badge only accounted for 7-8% of sales at the time. However, some Renault models with the Esprit Alpine badge soon exceeded 50%! It was time to put an end to this principle of royalties…
This indicates the potential of the Dieppe-based brand. However, the Renault styling concept (dynamic car, sporty design) anticipated by the Emblème demonstrator, and the powertrains (hydrogen?) should not blur the message with the general public and tarnish that of Alpine… Frankly, don’t you think that the Emblem could legitimately be adorned with the logo of the arrowed A, knowing where Alpine wants to go in the near future?! The question arises…
*Alpine’s product plan has changed with the arrival of the brand’s new boss, Philippe Krief. The A390 crossover will no longer be backed up by two other models in the higher segments, but by a single model: the A590, which will be aimed primarily at the US and Asian markets, with Europe to follow. A crazy idea crosses my mind: what if the A490 crossover, which had been dropped from the Alpine product plan, had finally been transformed into a Renault demonstrator? I’m babbling, I’m babbling…
