The Resurgence of Alpine: A New Chapter for the Iconic Sports Car Brand

There's a good chance that even if you have heard of Renault's recently resurrected sports car brand, you don't know much about it, including how to pronounce its name. And that's okay, because we're here to set the record straight – it's Alpine, not Al-pee-n or Al-pine. The Alpine brand has been around for 25 years, but it's been 25 years since we've seen a new sports car wearing this badge. Rewinding back to the 1960s and 1970s, you'd find Alpine on rally championships, lemon winners, and some pretty cool road cars too.

This year, Alpine is back with its latest creation – the A110, a lightweight two-seater that bears the same name as one of its most famous sports cars. Bringing back Alpine was a conscious decision to go back to the DNA that still lives in people's hearts and minds today – a compact, lightweight rear-engine sports car that promises to be fun to drive every day and on the racetrack. Priced at around £45,000, the A110 is gunning straight for Porsche's Cayman, but with its own unique tricks up its sleeve.

One of the standout features of the A110 is its lightweight aluminium chassis, which is designed to make it as agile and responsive as possible. But what really sets this car apart is its obsession with dieting – a term that's often used in the automotive world to describe cars that are stripped down to their bare essentials. In the case of the A110, this means fitting forged double wishbone suspension components, gorgeous SE belt seats that are half the weight of the Ricaro in the mean RS, and even a new 1.8L 4-cylinder petrol engine producing 250 horsepower.

The A110's engine is paired with an impressive 0-62mph time of just 4.5 seconds, which is made possible by its tiny curb weight – a mere 1,800kg. But it's not just the speed that matters – the car also emits just 137g/km of CO2, making it one of the most environmentally friendly sports cars on the market. The tires are another clever feature – they're 195s on the front and 225s on the back, with standard 17-inch wheels and only 10mm wider if you upgrade to 18-inch wheels.

The real goal behind the A110 is not to create a car that's going to lap the circuit faster than any other sports car, but one that's going to deliver the biggest miles. Whether you're driving it on a mountain road in the Alps or some bumpy back road in North Wales, the A110 promises to be a thrill to drive every day of the week. Its styling is full of classic Alpine cues – iconic headlights, a wraparound rear window, and a low spoiler-free tail that's made possible by the use of underfloor aerodynamics.

But while the A110 is undoubtedly a stylish and well-designed car, there's one thing missing – a gear lever for a manual transmission. The good news is that the A110 is paddle-shift only, which means it doesn't need a manual gearbox to be efficient. And according to Alpine, this was the right decision – double-clutch transmission is the future of high-performance sports cars, and it's an answer that will appeal to the vast majority of customers.

Speaking of priorities, establishing the Alpine brand back in the market was a crucial part of this project. But don't be surprised if we see an Alpine SUV on the horizon – or even petrol-electric hybrids in the coming years. According to the CEO, the focus is first and foremost on making sure the A110 lives up to everyone's expectations of what an Alpine should be. And with its clever design, impressive performance, and innovative technology, it's clear that this car is going to be a huge success.

Interestingly, the timing of the A110's launch couldn't have been better. Porsche's Cayman – once the undisputed king of the sports car world – now seems rather tame compared to the A110's 1.8L flat-four engine and its lightweight aluminium chassis. And while the original Alpine partner in this project didn't manage to bring their version to production, it's clear that Renault has learned from their mistakes and created a car that's even better than anyone expected.

The bigger picture here is one of electrification – something that's becoming increasingly important for the Renault Group, which is already a leader in this field. But when it comes to Alpine, electric vehicles are just the beginning. According to the CEO, there are many ideas on the table for other cars, including higher-volume models and even SUVs. And while these plans may not be set in stone just yet, one thing's for sure – the future of Alpine is bright, and exciting things are on the horizon.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enthere's a good chance that even if you have heard of renault's recently resurrected sports car brand you don't know much about it including how to pronounce that name Alpine no it's Alpine not Alpine not Alpine Alpine we call it Alpine but we respect it if the British want to call it Alpine it's been 25 years since we've seen a new sports car wearing this badge but rewinded the 60s and70s and you'd find it on rally Champions lemon winners and some pretty cool road cars too well this year Alpine is back with this the A110 a lightweight two-seater that bears the same name and more than a passing resemblance to Alpine's most famous sports car in bringing back Alpine we really wanted to go back to the DNA that still lives in people's hearts and Minds uh to this day that is a compact lightweight rear engine sport car that is really going to be fun to drive every day and on the racetrack priced at around £45,000 the A110 is gunning straight for Porsche's Cayman and while the Alpine might not have the badge Kudos of the Porsche it does have another trick of its sleeve thanks to its lightweight aluminium chassis and an obsession with dieting that includes fitting forged double Wishbone suspension components and these gorgeous SE belt seats that are half the weight of the ricaro in a mean RS the A110 tips the scales at just 1,8 kg behind those seats there's a new 1.8 L 4 cylinder petrol engine producing 250 horsepower 0 to 62 takes 4.5 seconds and the tiny curb weight means it emits just 137 G per km of CO2 the tires also come with some very small numbers they're 1 195s on the front 225s on the back with the standard 17in wheels and only 10 mm wider if you step up to the 18s so we've really set the car up to be uh playful we have haven't tried to get ultimate sideways grip in the car we're not looking to get outright lap times on the circuit but we're looking to give you a car that's going to deliver the the biggest miles whether you're driving it on a Mountain Road in the Alps or in some bumpy Back Road in North Wells the A110 is Tiny in the metal and The Styling has plenty of classic Alpine cues including those iconic headlights the wraparound rear window and a low spoiler-free tail made possible by the use of underfloor aerodynamics and inside you can forget memories of that plasticky Cleo you hired on holiday last year the quality is really impressive as it should be in a car of this price there is one thing missing though and that's a gear lever for a manual transmission the A110 is paddle shift only but surely they're considered a manual yeah obviously we considered the option and we're really confident that double clutch transmission is the right answer for the vast majority of customers there are always going to be be a hardcore fan base that are always going to want to stick but if we look at the way high performance sports guyss are going this is the right answer you know it's a comfortable car that you can drive every day and then you can go ballistic when the road opens out or you do a track day double clutches is definitely the right answer we're very confident on that coming back to Market with a credible sports car is an important part of establishing the Alpine brand but don't be surprised to see an Alpine SUV and petrol electric hybrids in the coming years even if Alpine's boss won't have in the longer term we have many ideas for other cars maybe higher volume cars for Alpine but frankly firstly it's not been decided yet secondly it's not our priority today because our absolute priority now is to make sure this car lives up to the expectation that people have in Aline but in the longer term clearly there is a trend towards electrification not just for Rena group and as you know we're a leader in that but in the market in general so in our future ideas we have some ideas that might be electric I'm not excluding it for Alpine but again it's not our focus in the short term the timing is right for Alpine to launch this car Alpha's even lighter 4C turned out to be a disappointment and the Cayman suddenly doesn't seem quite so perfect now it's swapped its Flat 6 for a less charismatic flat 4 it's a shame that Krum renault's original partner in this project didn't manage to bring its version to production but we're glad that bump didn't derail the entire program and we really hope this thing is as good to drive as it promises to be\n"