Alpine’s imminent A120 mid-engine two-seater coupe has been prowling the streets of Paris at night in production form ahead of its debut at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show in just a couple of weeks.
Whether this exercise was just for giggles or whether there were some actual PR or technical advantage gained from these camouflaged examples during this night drive is unclear - though, our guess is the former - but it’s nice sight to see Alpine on the roads again, number plates and all.
The much awaited return of the Alpine brand to automotive stage is just about clinched as the Renault-owned French sports car outfit is due to reveal its first production vehicle in nearly two decades.
The cars seen here do not differ in any obvious outer way to the Vision Concept revealed last year, nor the ones seen in the teaser footage outed back in December. As ever, Alpine and Renault have not said a confirmed word yet about the car’s more technical aspects.
The the car’s mostly-aluminium structure as well as its chassis are believed to be entirely bespoke. Meanwhile, the engine that is slotted in the middle is purported to be lifted from a Renault Sport model.
It’ll definitely be a transversely mounted turbocharged four-cylinder unit to keep mass low but power and torque relatively high for the lightweight rear-driven coupe. The Nissan-derived MR-series 1.6-litre turbo-four from the Clio RS 200 stands just as much chance of being used in the A120 as the 2.0-litre in the Megane RS.
Another, somewhat less likely rumbles surround the motor being a bored out version of the Clio RS’ engine, displacing 1.8-litres instead. Power guesses stand at around 186kW which enables a 4.5-second century sprint time with shifting duties handled by Renault’s EDC 6-speed dual-clutch transmission. A six-speed manual option could also be on the cards
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