Alpine A110 (2017)

Rear 3/4 view

Interior with Sabelt seats

Based on an all-aluminium construction, the A110 is powered by a 1.8-litre turbocharged gasoline direct injection 4 valves per cylinder inline-four engine mated to 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission manufactured by Getrag. Developed by Renault–Nissan and reworked by Alpine engineers, the engine has an output of 252 PS (185 kW; 249 hp) at 6,000 rpm and 320 N⋅m (236 lb⋅ft) of torque at 2,000–5,000 rpm. According to Alpine, the A110 can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h (0 to 62 mph) in 4.5 seconds, and has an electronically limited top speed of 250 km/h (155 mph).[1]

The A110 is available in three trims: Pure, Première, and Legende. The Pure cars, the base trim, have 17-inch alloy wheels. The Première trim cars are technically the launch edition models which were limited to 1,955 units and were equipped with amenities such as forged alloy wheels, quilted leather Sabelt bucket sports seats, a reversing camera, and metallic blue exterior colour as standard. The Legende trim cars come with six-way adjustable sports seats, black or brown leather interior upholstery, and an upgraded hi-fi sound system along with specially designed wheels exclusive to this trim. All of the three trims share the same powertrain and transmission.[4]

Introduced in June 2019, the A110S is a high performance and lightweight variant of the A110. The A110S benefits from increased power output (from 252 to 292 PS (185 to 215 kW; 249 to 288 hp)) from its 1.8-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine as well as stiffer springs, new anti-rollbars, dampers, and carbon-ceramic brakes as sassed equipment. The ride height is lowered by 4 mm (0.16 in) and the car is fitted with special Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres having a stickier compound contributing to more grip on the tarmac.

The engine was retuned and a larger turbocharger installed. The peak power is achieved at 400 rpm higher than the standard engine. The 7-speed dual-clutch transmission remains unchanged. The new springs and anti-roll bars are 50 and 100 percent stiffer than the standard car. The ESC system has also been retuned to improve handling and comes with a full-defeat mode.[5]

Aesthetic changes include flag motifs, orange brake calipers and optional matte grey paintwork and lighter Fuchs alloy wheels. An optional carbon fibre roof with a gloss finish reduces 1.9 kg (4 lb) from the total weight of the car which is 1,114 kg (2,456 lb).[6][7]

The A110S can accelerate to 0 to 100 km/h (0 to 62 mph) in 4.4 seconds (0.1 seconds faster than standard car) and has an electronically limited top speed of 250 km/h (155 mph).[8]

The Alpine A110 Cup was revealed in October 2017.[9] This track-only version of the A110 utilizes the same chassis as the road car but has been modified to include a roll cage, adjustable suspension and racing brakes. The 1.8 L turbocharged engine is also similar to the street car but power has been upped to 270 hp that is transferred to the track through a bespoke racing sequential gearbox and Michelin racing tires.[10] The car is designed for use in the new Alpine Elf Europa Cup series that will visit 6 tracks in Europe for its inaugural season.[11] Only 20 cars will be built in its debut season and they are priced around €100,000 each.[10]

At the 2018 Geneva Motor Show, Alpine revealed a new GT4 version of the Alpine A110 Cup.[12] This upgraded version of the A110 Cup comes with more power as well as revised aerodynamics highlighted by an extremely aggressive front splitter and a large rear wing. Customers of the original A110 Cup car are able to upgrade their cars to GT4 spec for a fee. The A110 GT4 began racing in the second half of 2018 so teams could test their new car in preparation for a championship hunt in the 2019 season.

The Alpine A110 Rally was announced in May 2019 and officially presented during the Rallye Mont-Blanc Morzine (5-7 September, 2019).[13] It is homologated by the FIA to Group R-GT specifications, its light aluminium chassis is derived from the Cup & GT4 versions and has 1.8-litre, 4-cylinder turbocharged engine delivering between 320 and 330 horsepower.[14] In 2020 an Alpine Trophy championship consisting of five rounds of the 2020 FFSA French Tarmac Rally Championship calendar was created. The first two rounds of the championship were won by Emmanuel Guigou with a notable 3rd overall at the Rallye Mont-Blanc Morzine 2020 a year after its official presentation.[15]

The car attracted some attention in February 2018, when a company-provided car caught fire while being filmed for an episode of the British television programme, Top Gear. The responding fire personnel were not able to control the fire, and the car was burnt to destruction.[16] This was due to a fuel failure when driver Chris Harris said, “There’s a red light on the dashboard, smoke, smoke, smoke!”

James May remarked on the Alpine A110, pronounced (‘Alpeen’), "It has 248bhp, weighs the square root of diddly, and is the greatest thing to come out of France since the Mouli cheese grater."[17] May eventually bought an Alpine in mid 2018 referring to it as his car of the year.[18]

The A110 Premiere Edition appeared in Gran Turismo Sport via a February update alongside the original model.

The 2017 A110 was introduced as a playable car to Forza Horizon 4 with the Season 17 Update which arrived on December 12, 2019.[19]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alpine A110.

• Official website