Elon Musk’s long to-do list contains plenty of projects deemed more important than the long-awaited Roadster, which still has no firm ETA. But a British startup hopes to capitalize on that delay by launching its own Roadster EV, and it’s already snagged some high-level car industry execs to help make it happen.

Related: Former Tesla Execs Debut New Electric Roadster Named To Taunt Elon Musk

Former McLaren CEO, Mike Flewitt, ex-Lotus Europe CEO Dan Balmer, and Michael van der Sande, whose resume includes stints at Lucid Europe, JLR’s special projects division, and as head of Alpine, have all joined the advisory board of Longbow. The company was co-founded by engineer Daniel Davey, who brings experience from Lucid and Tesla.

Two cars, one platform

Longbow is working on two similar cars built around the company’s own aluminium EV architecture, the first of which is scheduled to start production in the UK in 2027. Called the Speedster, it’s a two-seat, rear-wheel-drive EV with no windshield, a target curb weight of an incredible 1,973 lbs (895 kg), and a promised zero to 60 mph (97 km/h) time of 3.5 seconds.

Launching after the $110,000 Speedster is the related Roadster – and yes, that name is a deliberate dig at Tesla, whose own Roadster was originally mooted to carry a $250,000 price tag.

Costing just $84,000 if things go to plan, the removable-roof fastback is a tenth slower to 60 mph than the Speedster due to a 220 lbs (100 kg) weight penalty. Though even with the extra ballast, it still weighs less than a 15-year-old Lotus Elise, and half as much as most modern EVs.

“You have plans and you have ideas, but what you need to be able to do is sense check each of those with people who’ve done it before,” Davey told Autocar, explaining his rationale for bringing Flewitt, van der Sande, and Balmer on board.

Flewitt, who resisted calls for McLaren to produce an SUV and resigned abruptly in 2021, told the magazine he saw qualities in the Longbow cars that are no longer evident at other carmakers.

Veteran insight

“You look at [the Longbow] product, it’s a compact sports car; it’s built around driver engagement;  it’s a good size; It emphasises lightweight,” Flewitt said.

“These are all the characteristics which, frankly, I feel are starting to be lost in the industry. And to see somebody coming in with leading edge technology, but with those attributes at the forefront, is quite novel, and it really stood out to me.”

Longbow

Rally successes in the 1950s, ’60s, and early ’70s helped put Alpine on the map, and now the brand has released the competition-ready A290 Rallye to remind us that going electric is no barrier to sending mud, snow, and gravel flying.

Related: The Man Behind Ferrari’s SF90 Is Now Building Alpine’s SF90 Rival

The Rallye isn’t some wild Group B-style monster, but an entry-level rally car that’s eligible for entry in local competitions. So it sticks fairly close to the road-going A290 hot hatch, which together with its Renault 5 brother pulled off a victory in the 2025 Car of The Year competition.

Powertrain Tweaks and Track-Focused Hardware

That means it has a single motor under the hood that sends the same 217 hp (220 PS / 160 kW) to the front wheels as the top-spec production A290 (the entry-level road car makes do with 178 hp / 180 PS / 132 kW). But the ponies reaching those wheels are now dished out by a ZF mechanical limited-slip differential, and the rest of the chassis features some key upgrades that ought to keep it on the wiggly and narrow.

ALP Racing Suspension shocks control wheel and body movements, the 18×8-inch Evo Corse wheels are wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport A tires, and the front brakes are upgraded from 320 mm rotors and four-piston callipers to 350 mm discs and six pots. Alpine’s engineers have also tweaked the ABS setup and fitted a hydraulic handbrake to boost agility on hairpin bends.

Purpose-Built for the Stage

FIA compliance and common sense mean the Rallye has Sabelt bucket seats and a welded roll cage, but there’s one more tweak that’s got nothing to do with safety and everything to do with putting on a good show for watching rally fans.

The A290 already features a synthesised soundtrack, but for the Rallye Alpine, a new external sound generator was developed that emits noises which change depending on the EV’s speed and throttle position.

Price, Availability, and What Comes Next

The €59,990 (equal to about £51,900 / $70,800) price puts it at the accessible end of the customer rally car scale, although it’s still 40 percent more expensive than a stock A290 with the more powerful of the two available motors. But besides the upgrades, you’re also buying an A290 that is hand-built in the competition workshop at Alpine’s Jean Rédélé factory in Dieppe.

Alpine is unveiling its first electric racer aimed at private customers at the Rallye Rouergue Rodez Aveyron Occitanie this weekend, after which it’ll be trucked to the UK for an appearance at Goodwood, followed by a showing at the Rallye Mont-Blanc Morzine.

Furthermore, A290 Rallye buyers will get the chance to compete in a one-off event in France later this year, which Alpine promises will be backed by technical support and, just as importantly, a specific charging infrastructure.

Alpine