Appropriately Renault chose Monaco to reveal in concept form its upcoming all-new Alpine premium sports car.
‘The Principality’ has been the location for some memorable moments in the history of Renault and its F1 and World Rally Championship endeavors.
“Motorsports and sports cars are deeply rooted in the DNA of Groupe Renault,” explained Chairman Carlos Ghosn. “Earlier this month we announced our return to Formula One with a Renault team, and today we are announcing the Alpine.”
Shown as the ‘Alpine Vision’ concept car, Renault says we’ll see a production version by the end of this year and sales will commence in 2017.
Under the bonnet will be an all-new turbocharged four-cylinder engine sourced from Renault Sport which is planned to deliver a zero to 100km/h time under 4.5 seconds.
Alpine will have a small team of experts within Groupe Renault – already announced are managing director Michael van der Sande and design will be headed by Antony Villain.
And there’s a motorsport connection as well- the Signatech-Alpine racing Team will enter two Alpine LMP2 cars in this year’s World Endurance Championship including the Le Man 24-Hour race.
The road car is a mid-engined two-seat sports car with a sleek profile, twin round headlights and sculptured sides all combining to deliver a purposeful, high-performance look.
And, yes, for the Alpine enthusiasts with long memories, there is a hint of A110 about the rear windows.
An aircraft cockpit immediately springs to mind when viewing the Alpine’s interior – thanks to a prominent, high-mounted centre console.
Of course there is plenty of gorgeous quilted leather and brushed alumunium highlights as well as motorsport style seats with racing harnesses.
The instrument panel is a customizable TFT display which sits in a carbon-fibre cowling.
Production is slated for Alpine’s updated plant in Dieppe, France.
