- The Alpine A290 Rally became the first electric car to battle on the same course with its combustion-engine counterparts this weekend at the Rallye National de l’Indre-Buzançais
- All ten cars, produced and delivered on schedule, competed in the inaugural Alpine A290 Rally Trophy, immediately standing out for their performance, reliability, and the sheer driving pleasure they offered
- This landmark Alpine A290 Rally Trophy debut was crowned by victory for Melvin Rabilloud and Enzo Mahinc, who claimed a superb eighth place overall after consistently running inside the top ten
After its first dynamic appearances at the Goodwood Festival of Speed and Rallye Mont-Blanc Morzine, the A290 Rallye underwent a baptism of fire, eagerly awaited by all observers.
A landmark occasion
Before the start, Manufacture Alpine Dieppe Jean Rédélé brilliantly rose to the challenge of delivering the first ten cars entered for the Rallye de l’Indre.
Each driver collected their car on Wednesday, before a shakedown session the following day at the La Châtre circuit. Among these first chassis, the No. 001 stands out in particular for its symbolism. Entrusted to Philippe Janvier, a descendant of a family associated with Alpine since the 1970s, it links the brand’s past and present.
Rabilloud and Mahinc, forever the first
The Alpine A290 Rallye and the Alpine A290 Rallye Trophy made their debut on Friday, combining experienced drivers and young talents on a demanding course.
Melvin Rabilloud and Enzo Mahinc opened this new chapter, winning the first special stage on wet roads. The Fun Meca Sport crew continued to set the pace in the two following timed sectors, while their closest rivals got caught out. While the Guillaume Sirot – Julie Chabannes and Julien Brégeon – Amélie Arrivé duos prevented a clean sweep, the leaders remained insatiable and won by nearly two minutes, scoring 28 of the 30 ‘Performer’ points on offer.
Thanks to this success, the Isère native, supported by Alpine Store Annecy, wins an official Alpine A110 Rally entry for one round of the 2026 French Rally Championship season.
Huge potential on the line
The Alpine A290 Rallye Trophy also tested its format before being run over six rounds of the French Rally Championship. Already this weekend, competitors benefited from a dedicated setting, with eco-friendly charging solutions, technical assistance, a spare parts service, as well as technical and sporting equity guaranteed.
The A290 Rallye was also the first electric car to take on a course identical to that of its combustion-engine counterparts. As such, it has demonstrated solid potential thanks to its undeniable versatility and efficiency. With its agile chassis and incisive braking, the A290 Rallye finished in the overall top ten in more than half of the special stages and battled with the Rally4 cars right up to the finish. Lastly, Alpine Racing’s latest addition proved to be flawlessly reliable, with only two retirements, both due to drivers going off.
This very promising debut bodes well for the future of the Alpine A290 Rallye in 2026, either in open competition or in the single-make cups managed by Alpine Racing.
Melvin Rabilloud: “We are incredibly proud to have won the inaugural Alpine A290 Rallye Trophy. It’s special to be the first to make history with this new car. It’s extremely performant, very playful, with a particularly impressive chassis and brake system. We ran in the top ten overall throughout the rally and flirted with the top five at times before securing our trophy win. For a maiden competitive outing, it’s really promising and satisfying to finish eighth overall, and I don’t think many people expected us to do so well against some powerful cars. With this win, I’ll have a go with the Alpine A110 Rally in a French Rally Championship round next year. I want to thank the Alpine teams for their development work on the car, and also Alpine Store Annecy for their trust and commitment to us.”
Results
Alpine A290 Rallye Trophy – Rallye de l’Indre-Buzançais
1. Melvin Rabilloud – Enzo Mahinc 1h15m40.2s
2. Samuel Hoarau – Stéphane Duverger +1m52.2s
3. Julien Brégeon – Amélie Arrivé +2m10.3s
4. Denis Ridel – Gaëtan Debec +2m47s
5. Sandro Negre – Gilles Gaussens +4m02.7s
6. Benoît Mouquet – Pierre Hermant +4m56.7s
7. Pascal Janel – Jean-Pascal Berger +6m17.7s
8. Philippe Janvier – Julie Derory +6m51.3s
Ret. Guillaume Sirot – Julie Chabannes
Ret. Enzo Lucotte – Clio Chambelland
Alpine A290 Rallye Trophy – 2025 season
1. Melvin Rabilloud 58 points
2. Samuel Hoarau 34 points
3. Julien Brégeon 29 points
4. Denis Ridel 20 points
5. Sandro Negre 15 points
6. Benoît Mouquet 12 points
7. Pascal Janel 10 points
8. Guillaume Sirot 10 points
9. Philippe Janvier 8 points
10. Enzo Lucotte 3 points
Alpine Store Challenge
1. Alpine Store Annecy 58 points
2. Alpine Store Toulouse 20 points
3. Alpine Store Guadeloupe 15 points
4. Alpine Store Calais 12 points
5. Alpine Store Béziers 10 points
6. Studio Alpine Boulogne 10 points
7. Alpine Store Clermont-Ferrand 8 points