Extremely limited numbers means demand is very, very high.
Reborn French performance brand Alpine has made a very elegant arrival in our market, choosing the Motorclassica event in Melbourne to enter the scene with its stunningly-pretty A110 sports car. The turbocharged, mid-engined French mistress aims to take focus way from cars like the Porsche Cayman, and offer a degree of exclusivity that the German car has long surpassed.
“We are delighted to have the opportunity to showcase the classic heritage of the brand to the Australian public at Motorclassica. To have the iconic 1969 A110 next to our reimagined A110 Australian Premiere Edition, we are providing Australians with a poignant introduction to this new brand and just beginning to give them an idea of what a unique and exciting journey lies ahead.” — Andrew Moore, Managing Director, Alpine Australia
The A110 will be available for the time being exclusively as a Premiere Edition, with only 60 cars allocated for our shores. At $106,500 a pop, 32 of the 60 cars have been sold already, all of which share the same specification: Alpine Blue metallic paint, bi-material Brembo brakes, active-vale sports exhausts, and one-piece Sabelt bucket seats wrapped in leather and microfibre. Each Premiere Edition also rides on gorgeous 18-inch Fuchs forged alloys, and enjoy entertainment from a premium Focal audio system.
Once the Premiere models are sold out, only as many as 100 of the Pure & Legende models will arrive on our shores next year, with Pure models offering greater driver focus and Legende models greater luxury.
“We have 60 of these Premiere Editions coming, and then [Alpine head office] haven’t guaranteed me, but they’ve said we’ll get around 90-100 units next year of the Pure & Legende, throughout the year. We’re pretty lucky that we’re actually able to bring the vehicle in.” — Andrew Moore, Managing Director, Alpine Australia
That last note about luck touches on the sheer demand for the Alpine A100: With around 6,000 back orders for the sleek sports car in Europe, lots of countries have been put on hold for introduction, with the brand seeking to focus its efforts on key global markets that either have huge Alpine brand cachet or are critical spaces for performance cars (that would be us, then).
Moore also said that we “were pretty lucky… that the guy that runs the sales arm has had a history in Australia,” continuing on to say that we “probably got a bit of a leg up” to get Alpine here.
Once the inaugural batch of cars have been rolled out, the core range of the A110 can be put into full effect, starting with the more driver-focused A110 Pure, expected in Q1 of 2019. This variant lacks some of the more extravagant toys in the options list in the name of weight savings and performance, but will still include features such as climate control, satellite navigation, and LED lights all-round, however notably lacks the upgraded Brembo brakes and sports exhausts.
Finally, the more expensive ‘bells and whistles’ A110 will come in the form of the Legende, which a slightly more luxurious A110 that’s adopted a role more akin to a Grand Tourer. As such, this variant will start at $103,500 - $6,500 more than the Pure.
For that sum, it gains six-way electronically adjustable seats, full leather upholstery and interior trim, carbon fibre inserts, front and rear parking sensors, a rear view camera, a Focal audio system, and distinctive two-tone 18-inch wheels that pay homage to an original A110 Berlinette 1600S design. If that doesn’t fit your fancy, two other wheel options are available.
Each A110 will be powered by a mid-mounted 1.8-litre turbocharged petrol four-cylinder. Essentially a detuned version of the motor powering the all-new Megane RS hot hatch, the Alpine outputs 185kW and 320Nm which is sent to the rear wheels via a 7-speed dual-clutch. From launch, the car can dispatch 100km/h in just 4.5 seconds.
With 32 of the 60 A110 Premiere Edition cars already sold, those keen on getting a highly-limited version of this gorgeous little French sports car should hurry. Sales are limited to Brighton Renault, but Alpine will fly customers down to take delivery of their sports cars, should they so wish. A second dealership should come soon in Sydney, though Alpine aims to introduce service centres in every state to ensure the 100-odd new Alpine customers every year will always be able to keep their cars running as sweet as a nut.
For the best deals on a new Alpine, check out our Renault Showroom.
