Photo: Carpix
Back in the 1960s, the Alpine A110 was nothing short of a sportscar god. The stunning-looking, lightweight mid-engine formula made wonders, whether it was on the street or when it came to beating Porsches in rallying (think: 1970s). So Renault would have to be crazy to miss out on the opportunity of reviving the Alpine brand.
However, since the marque slowly faded away before being put to sleep, there's a lot of dust over its name. Factor in the tons of Euro market financial trouble deriving from the increasing emissions pressure and you'll understand why producing a sportscar that's supposed to mark the rebirth of a brand is not exactly a walk in the park.
In fact, Renault has been making efforts to give us an A110 spiritual successor for quite a few years now. For instance, the French automaker had established a partnership with Caterham back in 2012. The joint-venture should've seen the two brands delivering sister sportscars, but things didn't work out, so the Caterham 7 isn't getting a line-up colleague after all.
When Renault said the Alpine Vision Concept (you'll find this in the image gallery, alongside the spyshots and the A110) was 80% ready for production, they weren't kidding and it's enough to compare the spied prototype and the concept to figure that out.
Zooming in on the car, here are a few juicy details to pay attention to. It all starts with the sculpted air intakes on the sides of the front apron, but the LED rings give a nice touch to the rallying-inspired light arrangement of the machine.
Oh, and let's not forget the fuel filler cap, which can be found on the right front wing. Perhaps the most important detail on the side of the car comes from the air intake place just aft of the camo-covered rear window. This is a statement regarding the fact that the upcoming sportscar won't have its engine up front, not that such confirmation was needed.
As for the rear end, the car's garage descent allows us to notice just how serious the aero task of the diffuser is.
The A120 is rumored to tip the scales at a jaw-dropping 2,300 lbs (1,050 kg) and while that seems a bit exaggerated, it will definitely be considerably lighter than Porsche's 718 Cayman.
Hopefully, Renault has learned from the limited appeal of the Alfa Romeo 4C and will come up with a worthy competitor for Porsche's mid-engined sportscar.
The expected US market debut still hasn't been officially confirmed, but, if this happens, we could expect the price to start slightly below the $60,000 mark.
In fact, Renault has been making efforts to give us an A110 spiritual successor for quite a few years now. For instance, the French automaker had established a partnership with Caterham back in 2012. The joint-venture should've seen the two brands delivering sister sportscars, but things didn't work out, so the Caterham 7 isn't getting a line-up colleague after all.
Fast-forward to... today
Fortunately, though, Renault kept pushing, which now give us the joy of showing you the first spyshots of the upcoming Alpine sportscar. Despite not having an official name yet, the machine is scheduled to make its debut next year and we can now gaze at its modern classic beauty.When Renault said the Alpine Vision Concept (you'll find this in the image gallery, alongside the spyshots and the A110) was 80% ready for production, they weren't kidding and it's enough to compare the spied prototype and the concept to figure that out.
Zooming in on the car, here are a few juicy details to pay attention to. It all starts with the sculpted air intakes on the sides of the front apron, but the LED rings give a nice touch to the rallying-inspired light arrangement of the machine.
Oh, and let's not forget the fuel filler cap, which can be found on the right front wing. Perhaps the most important detail on the side of the car comes from the air intake place just aft of the camo-covered rear window. This is a statement regarding the fact that the upcoming sportscar won't have its engine up front, not that such confirmation was needed.
As for the rear end, the car's garage descent allows us to notice just how serious the aero task of the diffuser is.
The tech goodies
The Alpine sportscar, which could be called A120, will be powered by a turbo-four, which is expected to send around 250 hp to the rear wheels. If things go well, we could get a 300 hp version and maybe even a convertible.The A120 is rumored to tip the scales at a jaw-dropping 2,300 lbs (1,050 kg) and while that seems a bit exaggerated, it will definitely be considerably lighter than Porsche's 718 Cayman.
Hopefully, Renault has learned from the limited appeal of the Alfa Romeo 4C and will come up with a worthy competitor for Porsche's mid-engined sportscar.
What about the pricing and availability?
As we mentioned above, the Alpine sportscar is scheduled to land next year, while company sources (talking to the French media) revealed it would be priced between EUR40,000 and EUR50,000.The expected US market debut still hasn't been officially confirmed, but, if this happens, we could expect the price to start slightly below the $60,000 mark.
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