Alpine and Michelin's technical cooperation on the A110 started in 2012. That involving the A290 began in 2021. “At that point, nothing actually tangible even existed,” notes Frédéric Brigaud, “but we were capable of working on the brief with the elements we had in virtual form.”
The two entities were subsequently able to commence the development process per se, including a joint testing programme to evaluate tyre options fitted to a preparatory laboratory car that foreshadowed the forthcoming model. The majority of these tests – usually a week or so long - took place at Michelin's proving ground in Ladoux, near Clermont-Ferrand, France, where a wide spectrum of conditions can be replicated, including a wet surface with a consistent depth of water. The last joint test took place early in 2024, at the Indra facility in southern Spain.
The data obtained in the course of this development loop is invaluable in establishing the final specification of the A290's tyres ahead of the car's revelation to the public, in June 2024.
(c) Director: Hervé CHERVY - Producer: DPPI MEDIA