Alpine A110 Finally Takes on Porsche 718 Cayman

Right off the bat, the Alpine is looking like it's going to lose because the guys were only able to secure an excellent version of the 718 Cayman, a GTS. Not just that, but it also has the Chrono package and PASM suspension on lowered springs. The two options alone can radically improve the way a Porsche feels.

There's also a huge power gap here: 365 HP from the 2.5-liter boxer versus 252 made by the French 1.8-liter. In a race, the Alpine would get murdered. But we can find out a couple of key differences.

Porsche did the steering a lot better, with more weight and feel to reassure the driver, while Alpine's parent company Renault is known for lack of feel. But the lightness of steering in the A110 is a hint to its weight, which is 300 kilos less than this GTS. No wonder the editors say there isn't much of an acceleration gap.

The Alpine has more brake feel from a firmer pedal. The downside is that all the controls don't feel the same, but you can really on its stopping power more. Also, it's got more suspension travel, so it leans into corners and sokes up bumps. Of course, we did tell you that the Porsche is cheating there.

On practicality, one car is way ahead of the other. Can you guess which? Of course, Porsche wins. But even though both of them are tiny, the A110 also has two trunks, one at the front and another at the back.

And on the final matter of picking a winner... the two reviewers couldn't decide. It's a deeply personal choice that all sports car buyers will have to make for themselves. Still, it's better than no choice at all, since nobody wanted to live with the Alfa 4C.