Alpine, the Renault-owned sports car company, has finally taken the wraps off their first production car in over two decades. After many weeks of dropping small to average sized teasers, we finally get a look at the French two-seat, mid-engine Porsche 718 rival.
It’s name, too, is now official, and ditches the previously rumoured ‘A120’ in favour of resurrecting the A110 moniker from what was arguably their most coveted model and the car from which this new version takes so much inspiration.
As expected, the new A110 looks very similar indeed to the Alpine Vision Concept revealed last year, which barely any differences to be picked up at a glance. This also means that the car doesn’t really strike us as new, but only if you’ve been paying attention.
Not that it’s necessarily a negative, though, as the A110 looks very attractive - a slender little coupe that looks almost square on the road, very much like the Alfa Romeo 4C that it will no doubt be compared against immediately.
These pictures are all we have at the moment and who knows if Alpine will choose to release more prior to the full reveal scheduled for the 2017 Geneva Motor Show next week. No further details are given either, which is a shame as the motoring press is eager to know exactly what motor lives between its two axles.
It’s all but certain now that it will be a turbocharged four-cylinder lifted from the Renault Sport parts bin, either the 1.6-litre from the Clio RS or the 2.0-litre from the Megane RS. Some reports suggest that it will use the smaller 1.6, but bored out displace 1.8-litres instead and modified in other ways to produce an output in the region of 224kW.
It’s expected kerb weight should also hover around 1,000kg, making the every ounce of power worth even more in terms of actually moving the car. The Alfa 4C also keeps a very trim figure of around 1 ton, though the 718 Cayman weights around 1,400kg but is motived in its most powerful configuration by 257kW 2.5-litre turbo flat-four. In terms of power-to-weight, then, the Alpine should be able to give the German a good fight.
Competing with the Porsche will also take a very talented chassis, but the know-how from the Renault Sport camp are famed for their ability to squeeze brilliance out of less than ideal suspension setups - the torsion beam rear of the Megane RS being a prime example.
Alpine has also stressed the aerodynamics that the A110 will use, specifically the flat floor and air channels to create less drag and more downforce, negating the need for a spoiler at all and keeping the stylish shape uncorrupted.
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