The slow gestation of the car that eventually became the Alpine A110 was well documented, and by all indications the car’s unhurried pace set by parent company Renault from concept to production has been worth our patience. The final version was revealed at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show on its way to an announced rollout - starting in Europe - in 2018.
Until now, we’ve had only educated guesses as to how many months much of the rest of the world will have to wait to get our grubby fingers on the real thing. It’s been revealed, though, that the A110 will be making its Down Under debut in the second half of next year.
In a statement, Renault Australia’s Managing Director, Andrew Moore, said: On behalf of Alpine Cars, it is with great pleasure that we can make this announcement today. Alpine, the sports premium brand of Groupe Renault, defines a modern sports car designed for driving pleasure,”
“It combines the timeless Alpine principles of compact size, light weight and dynamic agility and keeps true to the spirit of its predecessors, in particular the A110 Berlinette. We are delighted that it won’t be long until its loyal fans, as well as those new to the brand, can get behind the wheel,” he said.
Meanwhile, Régis Fricotté, International Sales Director of Alpine Cars, said; “We know that many people have been waiting for this car. In fact, when bookings opened in Europe, all 1,955 Premiere Edition cars were reserved within just a few days. We believe the A110 offers a unique proposition to the market and we expect a similar reaction from Australian sports car enthusiasts when the car is on sale.”
Its hard to overstate the significance of today’s announcement as this is the first time we’ve heard a word about any market outside Europe to offer the new Alpine. Presumably, further announcements concerning other regions such as North America, Southeast Asia, and China will be made in due time. But, crucially, we were first (of the rest).
While much of the specification has not been finalised, Renault Australia indicates that it will be similar to the configuration of the European-spec ‘Premiere Edition’, as some of the features include:
- 18-inch Otto Fuchs forged aluminium wheels.
- Sabelt monocoque sport seats
- Brembo sport brakes
- Active lightweight sports exhaust
- Premium Focal audio system.
- Matte carbon fibre interior accents.
- Brushed aluminium pedals.
The way it’s looking, the A110’s battalion will consist of a couple of heavy-hitting variants over enveloping buyers with a plethora of configurations and price points. Tactically, its a similar schtick to how its key rivals - the Porsche 718 Cayman and Alfa Romeo 4C - are operating.
As previously detailed back in March, the A110 looks virtually identical to the Alpine Vision Concept and Alpine Celebration Concept that preceded it, which themselves took plenty of cues from the original A110 from the 1960s and 70s.
Mounted amidship of the lightweight (1,080kg kerb) compact two-seater is a 1.8-litre turbocharged four-cylinder motor straight out of Renault Sport - and the same that will see service in the next Megane RS hot hatch - that generates 185kW and 320Nm. Sending power to its relatively wide rear wheels is a 7-speed wet-clutch DCT transmission sourced from Getrag, enabling an impressive 4.5-second 0-100km/h sprint time
Alpine have electronically limited its top speed to 250km/h, but with that kind poke with so little weight to lug around (thanks to its all aluminium body) and a drag coefficient of just 0.32, there’s a good chance it could go a good deal faster unshackled.
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