Alpine’s next car, it’s first real product in nearly two decades, was always going to be highly anticipated, and the Renault-owned sports car maker is taking its time with the slow drip reveal of the A120. Which is odd, because we already know quite a lot.
This time, it’s showing us an item that we have largely been curious about, aerodynamics. Shown here is the flat underbody of the upcoming car, shown to be channeling air out from via its rear diffuser to create downforce and stability.
Because of this, Alpine says that the A120 doesn’t need a rear spoiler, and allows for the sleeker profile that has been previewed extensively, and importantly keeps it very similar aesthetically to the A110 to which it is meant to be a successor to.
The car is due to make its official premiere at the Geneva Motor Show in March, and from that point Alpine will be allocating the first 1955 units (the year of the Alpine’s founding) as Premiere Edition examples, which unfortunately will only be on sale for this initial stage in select European countries.
There has been a wide ranging threads of speculation as to what sort of engine lies mounted in the middle of the A120, and thus what kind of performance can we likely expect? The most plausible of them being using a modified version of the 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder from the Clio RS200, but expanded to 1.8-litres.
Power, thusly, should hover around 224kW in its most powerful tune which should put it in line with cars like the Alfa Romeo 4C and the Porsche 718 Cayman. Reportedly, the A120 will manage the century sprint in just 4.5 seconds, also on par with both those would-be competitors.
