Renault's performance brand Alpine has prepared a spectacular concept car for the 2022 Paris Motor Show kicking off on Monday, October 17. We won't have to wait until then to see the radically styled machine as the online debut is locked in for this Thursday. Ahead of its debut, a shadowy teaser image has been released of what the French brand refers to as a "ground-breaking concept car" dubbed Alpenglow.
If the name doesn't ring a bell, it refers to an optical phenomenon. Per Wikipedia, alpenglow "appears as a horizontal reddish glow near the horizon opposite to the sun when the solar disk is just below the horizon." Alpine describes it as a "luminous phenomenon in which a horizontal streak of red-tinged light appears on the mountains before sunrise and after sunset."
The interesting moniker has been chosen to reflect where the brand is right now since Alpine is about to sunset the combustion engine and prepare for the rise of electric vehicles. The Alpenglow will not only signal the inevitable transition from ICEs to EVs but also provide a window into the future of design as the models coming after the A110 will adopt a new styling approach.
Alpine is not only referring to road-going models but also race cars. In fact, the Alpenglow seems to be a track-only concept judging by its dramatically aerodynamic body. The low-slung electric performance model has an extremely wide body and what may be a canopy or gullwing doors. That full-width LED strip is clearly a reference to the showcar's name and there seems to be a wide wing or spoiler at the back.
The Dieppe-based niche marque will go purely electric from the middle of the decade and has already teased three new models. Expect a hot hatch version of the Renault 5’s electric revival to be joined by a GT-X Over crossover and a new sports car co-developed with Lotus on a dedicated modular platform.
Meanwhile, the mid-engined A110 rear-wheel-drive coupe soldiers on with its turbocharged 1.8-liter gasoline unit adapted from the soon-to-be-discontinued Renault Megane RS.
