Alpine Draws Inspiration from the Alps for New A390_β Show Car Made With 3D Printing

A sea of stone with white sugar-coated peaks where the snow glistens in the sun. This image is not only the dream of every winter sports enthusiast, the imposing mountain world also served as a source of inspiration for the French car manufacturer Alpine (Renault Group). In fact, Alpine was inspired by the stone and snow of the Alps for its new A390_β show car and has used design and materials to emphasize this ambience. Every detail of the individual specimen has been deliberately thought through. The immaculate white suggests gentleness and lightness and represents an antithesis to the hectic pace of everyday life, while the aerodynamic design emphasizes the agility and responsiveness of the car.

Alpine worked with two French companies to implement the futuristic design in the style “from rock to snow” – as the website says. Lavoisier Composites produced the floor of the interior, while the Erpro Group took on the 3D printing of the headrests. The interior of the A390_β and the materials used are inspired by Formula 1 and the driving experience is also intended to resemble that of a sports car.

The front seat is made of a carbon shell and the floor is also made of carbon to emphasize the speed of the vehicle. Lavoisier Composites used by-products from the aerospace and photovoltaic industries for production and used the circular materials to make the vehicle floor. This is made up of 360 triangular profiles, which were manufactured using compression molding and then glued together. In this way, Lavoisier Composites was able to achieve the final minimalist design with its basalt effect. The carbon is visible on one side and the silicon shines on the other.

“For the glittering silicon, we had access to leftover photovoltaic modules, while the carbon came from the aerospace industry. We then adapted the molding process to maintain the assembly flexibility required to meet the design constraints,” explains Esteban Villalon, Co-Founder and Chairman of Lavoisier Composites. “The profiles are manufactured using compression molding because they are two-thirds carbon fiber and one-third epoxy resin,” Villalon continues, providing insight into how the materials used came together.

A390_β contains 3D-printed headrests in ice crystal look

While the vehicle floor is reminiscent of the stony and rocky roughness of the Alps, the seats give the impression of a wintery snowy landscape. “The bench seat is seamlessly assembled from one piece. This gives passengers the feeling of being the first to set their footprints in a blanket of pure snow,” says Marc Poulain, Chief Advance Designer at Alpine, explaining the intention behind the design. The headrests also contribute to the overall Alpine look and feel as if they have been carved out of ice. To make this design a reality, Alpine turned to its long-standing partner Erpro. The company then implemented Alpine’s original ideas using a 3D printing process.

In addition to their complexity, the final headrests also had to have functional properties and be lightweight, robust, breathable and shock-absorbent. Erpro therefore opted for a flexible and almost transparent bio-based elastomer, Arkema’s Rebax Rnew, which also contains castor oil. Using compression tests, Erpro was able to achieve the ideal thickness for the headrests without compromising on strength and flexibility. The two headrests with integrated loudspeakers were produced within three weeks and complete the overall appearance of the futuristic, mountain-inspired Alpine A390_β.

This example once again underlines the added value that additive manufacturing can bring to the automotive industry, where innovative designs can contribute to an impressive user experience and car manufacturers can showcase their expertise. Find out more about the new Alpine show car HERE.

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*All Photo Credits: Alpine