Alpine

Images by Hayden Povey.

There’s something very likable about the Alpine A290 GTS. Yes, it looks fresh and funky in a 2020’s type of way but behind all that, it also feels a nostalgic and charmingly analogue in a 1980’s type of way too. For the uninitiated, that squat stance and purposeful nose clearly trace a lineage back to the original ‘Hot Hatch’, the Renault 5, only now it’s reborn with a 52 kWh battery, 220 horsepower and more character than most electric cars at twice the price.

Predictive damping, torque vectoring, regenerative braking and active aero might all sound well and good but what if you just want less of all that? What if you just want to reconnect with the outright physics of driving again? Enter the A110: a lightweight, mid-engined, rear-wheel-drive sports car that does away with all of the above.