French sports car manufacturer, Alpine, has just outed their latest creation. The purveyors of lightweight, nimble, zippy sports cars – such as the A110 – have debuted a rally-spec concept called the SportsX, which looks heroic and has skis on it. It’s said to be inspired by the A110 racer that won the 1973 Monte Carlo rally, and is on display at the International Automobile Festival in Paris.
The recipe for the SportsX is fairly simple. It still uses the same mid-engine layout, the same 185kW 1.8-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine and dual-clutch transmission as the entry-level A110 Pure, but raised up 60mm for added ground clearance and widened by 80mm. Its creators say the SportsX remains faithful to Alpine DNA, which are lightness and agility for driving pleasure.
Apart from its jacked-up appearance, the SportsX concept gets black contrasting wheel arches, bonnet, and roof with rally-style fog lamp tape and the unmissable custom-made ski rack which pays homage to the original model’s mud-slinging heritage. There are also French flags scattered about the car, and a technical diagram version of the Alpine script at the back.
But, here’s the bubble buster – according to Alpine, the one-off coupe on stilts is not for sale. But who knows, with the new leadership at Groupe Renault – and Luca de Meo at the wheel – the SportsX concept might be thrust into a limited-production run. Only time will tell we reckon.
The SportsX concept isn’t the only car from Alpine to grace the International Automobile Festival but rather it’ll be joined by the likes of the 1966 A210 prototype, the Alpine Vision Gran Turismo, the 1972 A110 1800 Gp4, the original 1971 A110 and the modern day A110S.
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