It’s one of the stars of the Paris Motor Show, taking place at Porte de Versailles until Sunday 20 October, and who better to talk about it than Antony Villain, the brand’s design boss? There’s no need to go into all the styling details in this interview, which we’ve already covered in a previous post (https://lignesauto.fr/?p=35456), but rather to talk about the secrets behind its genesis and to lift a (small…) corner of the veil on the future of the Alpine range.
LIGNES/auto: After the arrival of the A290, the first car in the Dream Garage announced for 2021, is the A390-B concept car the real marker of Alpine’s revival?
Antony Villain: It is indeed an important chapter. The A290 is a model that will enable us to attract new customers, and it’s also a nod to our heritage, which includes the A106 and the R5 Alpine (below). It all makes sense. With the Dream Garage, the initial idea was to offer a more personal car with the A290, a more versatile car to take the family and go further afield with the A390 (but still with a driving sensation close to that of an A110, Antony assures us) and the A110 for fun. The Dream Garage announced our intention to offer a car for every category of use. So we really needed this A290 based on the R5 E-TECH. With the A390, we’re beginning to use a formal language that Alpenglow had pioneered. This is the formal register of the future product.
Except that in terms of identity, you’re very different from an A110…
We’re not completely different. In fact, we’ve pushed the boundaries. With the A110, we’re very close to the saloon car philosophy and it’s a link with the original model. With the A390, we’ve got the same ingredients, but we’ve pushed them towards more futurism because we don’t have to get close to a historic model. There isn’t one!
What are the ingredients you’re talking about?
The Alpine codes are very much in evidence with the V-shaped front end, while the headlights are very much in evidence but with a much sharper, more modern identity. We’re also referring to the side moulding, which is sculpted differently and stretches the car, and finally we have the rear window, which is very A110 but designed in a more exaggerated way. So the styling is much more futuristic. What’s interesting is that between the A110 and the A390 we’ve created our playground for all future models. The A110 is based on retro, this one is very futuristic, and between the two we have plenty of scope to express ourselves for the future.
This famous Dream Garage announced by Luca de Meo for 2021 was a real surprise. Was it difficult to come up with a design concept for the A390 quickly?
The genesis of the A390 took place in two stages. We had started before Luca de Meo arrived and we were working on an idea for an object like this, but it was not at all in this form. On the platform that was then called CMF-C, we were working on this project with a technical content that is ultimately that of the A390, but the style was not at all like that.
Before Luca arrived? Was it an unofficial programme?
No, not at all, it was an official programme to complete the range alongside the A110. We were at the pre-project stage when we were working on the proportions, without creating a style that was neutral and generic.
When Luca de Meo arrived, he found himself in much the same situation as with the R5 E-TECH. You’ve already got something in the pipeline… Wasn’t there a model yet?
Yes, there was a model, but Luca de Meo is used to judging the architecture and styling concept at the same time, with a very Cartesian approach. And when he saw the model in advance of the phase, he didn’t really believe it, because obviously the model is based on proportions and not on style. So he couldn’t really see things… We presented the model once, twice, and we weren’t making any progress. So, together with Laurens van den Acker (Renault Group Design Director), we decided to use our architectural package to create style, while maintaining the right proportions.
And Luca de Meo was seduced?
Yes, it was at the end of 2020, just before the announcement of the Renaulution plan. .. And as Luca is a product man, he gave a few indications, such as making the car a little longer. The A390 was not developed in a single stage. The original design was more compact, and we ended up making it as long as the platform would allow. At that point, Luca said ‘OK, let’s go for it!
Given the speed of execution, we can imagine that the genesis was a bit special?
The critical path was more to do with what’s under the skin, with very advanced technology, but for the development of the style, we followed a fairly standard pattern, including going through the Clay model stage.
Today, the design team numbers around fifty people. And when the A390 programme was launched, how many of you were working on design?
At that time, there were only 10 of us working on the A290 and A390 at the same time!
Will the new light signature be found on all future models?
At the front, yes, but there are bound to be a few minor changes at the rear…
Is the mobile broadcaster conceivable for series production?
No, but if we’ve shown it, it’s because we’re interested. We’re currently doing a lot of work on downforce, and on electric vehicles we need to improve drag, especially on motorways. This principle is part of the solution.
This Alpine in the C+ segment was intended to be accompanied by two crossovers in the higher segments, particularly for international markets. However, one of these two crossovers (segment D below) has disappeared off the radar. Is it in a museum?
No, the vehicle has not disappeared, and we do have one last silhouette that fits into the product plan. But at the moment, it’s not set in stone. We have several scenarios for it. At the time, there was only one, but today there are several. For this last silhouette, all the avenues are open, but it is not yet set in stone.
All this indicates that the A110, A110 Cabriolet and A310 produced on the new APP platform and announced for the years 2027-2028 are frozen?
The future A110 is well advanced. We’re also working on the 2+2 silhouette (future A310) and the E-segment silhouette is also well on schedule…
To keep Alpine alive, we understand that products with more volume are needed alongside the A110, A110 Cabriolet and A310, but will these last three be enough to keep the APP platform alive?
Yes, absolutely, it’s enough. However, this platform can go even further and we could design other silhouettes, but Luca de Meo won’t let us go down that road. On the contrary, we’re being challenged to come up with profitable projects!
Dieppe will assemble the next production A390 in 2025. Does the plant have the capacity to assemble this first Alpine, with the consequent volumes that go with it?
Yes, and things are changing on a daily basis. Today, we produce just over 4,000 A110s, but we shouldn’t forget that in the past, Dieppe produced over 30,000 cars, particularly when the Renault Espace was being assembled. So in its current configuration, the plant is capable of assembling far more than the volume of A110s. Dieppe is set to step up a gear with the arrival of the A390, with all the logistics that this entails, with engines coming from the Cléon plant and the body in white arriving from the Douai site.
Thanks to Antony Villain for his availability and to the Alpine communications team.
BONUS
It’s not just the A390-B at the Paris Motor Show!
The Alpine brand is announcing at the Paris Motor Show that ‘2024 marks a turning point for the brand as it rolls out its strategy and ambitious product plan. No fewer than three new models will be making their world premieres at this 90th edition of the Paris Motor Show, not forgetting the Alpine A290, which was launched just last summer.
At the press conference on Monday 14 October, Philippe Krief, CEO of Alpine, and Antony Villain, Alpine Design Director, unveiled the A390_β show car, the Alpenglow Hy6 hydrogen-powered V6 rolling prototype below, and the exclusive limited edition A110 R Ultime to the public.
ARCHIVES: an unknown Alpine crossover project unveiled below
