The Alpine A110 is back, and it's glorious
We'll get more details on this midengine sports car at the Geneva Motor Show.
Last year, Alpine teased its new sports car with the Vision Concept. Now, we're getting a look at the real deal, and much to our delight, it's close to the same thing.
Alpine finally pulled back the curtain on its new A110 sports car. Instead of using the A120 name, as some believed, Alpine stuck with the same badge it used back in the middle of the 20th century. The original A110 earned recognition for its success in rallying -- in fact, it won the first constructors' title when the World Rally Championship formed in 1973.
An adherence to tenets of old is part of the reasoning behind sticking with the A110 name. Renault , Alpine's parent company, promises that the new A110 will be compact, light and agile. The only factoid it's let slip is that it has an aluminum chassis. More details will be made available when the A110 takes the stage at the Geneva Motor Show next week.
Rumor has it that the A110 will sport a turbocharged four-cylinder engine mounted mid-ship, with an output somewhere between 250 and 300 horsepower and an estimated 0-60 time of 4.5 seconds. That's nearly as quick as the Alfa Romeo 4C, and just a bit quicker than the base Porsche 718 Cayman, which should be its competitive set.
It's nice to see something new in the somewhat-affordable, midengine sports car segment.
It's impressive just how close the Alpine Vision Concept comes to the production A110. Sure, the mirrors are a big bigger, and there are some slight changes to the fasciae, but it's pretty much the same car.
All we need to do now is hope that it comes to the US. Being part of the Nissan-Renault Alliance, Alpine could hawk its wares at Nissan or Infiniti dealerships in the US. That might seem strange, but Renault doesn't really have any other Stateside options. We'll be sure to ask at Geneva next week.
The differences between Alpine's concept and its production car can be counted on one hand.