2019 Alpine A110   Review

What’s an Alpine?

Well, it has been a while since the French company last produced a car – 1995 in fact. It all started with Jean Redele in 1955, a racer who wanted to build light, nimble cars that’d be competitive on road rallies. The original A110 was produced from 1961 to 1977 and actually won the Monty Carlo rally in 1971 and ’73. Renault bought the company in 1973, and continued to produce cars at its Dieppe plant until production ended in the mid 1990s.

The A110 marks its return for the first time since, and effectively tries to imagine what the original would’ve looked like if it’d continued to evolve, like a Porsche 911. It’s on sale now, priced from £47,810 in Pure specification, or £51,810 as a better-equipped Legende.

More tech details please…

It’s unusual for car engineers to start with a completely blank piece of paper for a new car, but that’s essentially the freedom they’ve had with the Alpine A110. As such, this is an impressively exotic and bespoke sports car, built on an all-new aluminium platform with racecar-style double-wishbone suspension. A 1.8-litre turbocharged engine is shared with the Renaultsport Megane, but in this case it’s mounted behind the driver and drives the rear wheels. A seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox with paddleshifts fixed to the steering wheel is the only transmission option.

The performance figures are merely modest at 249bhp and 236lb ft torque, but the Alpine has been built with an obsessive focus on keeping weight to a minimum. As such, the A110 weighs around 1100kg (roughly 200kg less than a Cayman), and can accelerate from 0-62mph in 4.5 seconds and reach 156mph. And because it’s light there’s the promise of 40-plus mpg, meaning mid 30s should be easy.

Looks gorgeous. What’s it like inside?

If you’re also considering a Porsche, the Alpine’s interior will disappoint. The overall look and feel is sporty, with the seats set low on the floor and canted back, you grip a small diameter steering wheel, and there’s such a compact feel it’s almost as if the bonnet badge is within reach – the Alpine is, in fact, 20cm shorter than a Porsche Cayman. But there’s also carryover Renault switches and buttons, some cheap-feeling plastics and a pretty average infotainment system. Luggage space? Well, there are boots both front and rear, but they’re tiny. In the showroom, you might have second thoughts. That’s why you really need a test drive.

So the Alpine’s great to drive?

It’s fantastic, and defined most by its lightness and unusually supple chassis. This is a car that dances over the road surface with its quick-witted steering, juicy bursts of acceleration from the gurgly four-cylinder engine and a feeling that the small amount of mass is kept low down in the chassis for maximum agility. We mean this not as a negative, but there’s also a surprising amount of body roll for a sports car, and because the roll is so well controlled it actually adds to the A110’s playful feel – learning to use the weight transfer under braking and acceleration and as you pitch the Alpine into a corner is all part of the fun, especially when those traits are all amplified on a trackday.

Negatives? Well, the dual-clutch gear shifts are quick enough but do have a fuzzy edge, and the steering has an artificially smooth feel, but overwhelmingly this is a sports car of sublime delicacy, a pure-bred driving machine for people more concerned with the art of driving than bragging rights at the bar.

In a nutshell

Not everyone will grasp the appeal of the Alpine A110. The price is a little extra than a Porsche Cayman, and yet the French car’s keyfob doesn’t have the same status, the performance figures are off the pace, and you’ll need to both tolerate Renault switchgear and buy it from a Renault dealer too (though it will be an Alpine showroom based at a Renault dealership). That there’ so little luggage space will rule it out for some, too. But if you want to experience the purity and excitement of a lightweight sports car at its very best, no-one – not even Lotus – does it better than this.

Similar car reviews

If the relatively unknown Renault owned Alpine A110 hasn’t given you the feeling of va va voom, you may want to consider these alternative car reviews.

The Porsche 718 Cayman T is probably it’s closest rival, the Cayman T is nicely positioned between the entry-level Cayman and the Cayman S, and is very similarly priced to the Alpine A110.

Another close rival is the Toyota GR Supra Pro. It screams Japanese sports car design, with a great blend of sports car excitement and comfortable driving.

If you’re looking for a sports car with a little more luxury, then the BMW M850i could quite possibly be the car you’re looking for. With crisp clear touchscreen digital displays supplemented with an all-leather interior, you know you are getting a fantastic car despite its £100k from new price tag.

You also cannot rule out the Porsche 911 Carrera 2S Cabriolet, not only a great soft top but a great drivers car full stop. With 444bhp you’ll do 0-62mph in an impressive 3.9 seconds.