Alpine and Lotus Collaboration to Spawn Next-Level Sports Cars

It should be noted that these three cars have nothing in common with the mighty Evija, whose architecture will remain standalone, as it would have been a lot more cost-intensive to make it modular.

The new architecture has been developed thanks to the so-called Project LEVA (Lightweight Electric Vehicle Architecture), a research program that is more like a skunkworks division, which was announced in late 2020.

While impressive by itself, what is truly majestic about the new EV platform isn’t related strictly to Lotus Cars but to the automotive industry in general.

We live in a fast-paced world, and the automotive industry is currently going through what is likely the most turbulent but also exciting time that it has faced since the invention of the passenger car.

Unlike 100+ years ago, the massive electrification of cars seems to be here to stay this time, whether you like it or not, and no self-respecting traditional carmaker is likely to survive without at least dipping its toes into the technology of tomorrow.

Some say that the cars of tomorrow are already here in certain segments, which is yet another nail in the coffin of ultra-traditional car manufacturers that refuse to keep up with the times.

Even Bugatti, which still makes the total antithesis of an EV with the 16-cylinder Chiron and all its versions, will slowly transition to more eco-friendly hypercars once the collaboration with Rimac reaches its peak.

Speaking of collaborations, Lotus and Alpine also one in place, started at the beginning of the year but without too many details being made public.

Apart from the announcement itself, the only piece of news that was disseminated at the time was the fact that one of the fruits of their collaboration is a future electric sports car.

Not a full partnership per se, but “a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to study a number of areas of cooperation, including the joint development of an EV sportscar,” the spontaneous friendship between Lotus and Alpine could make both carmakers exist the shadow they’ve been hiding in recent years and propel themselves to high ranks, such as Porsche or at least McLaren.

We say this because both Alpine and Lotus have plans to expand their lineup in all the trendiest segments in the following years, including EVs and SUVs.

Love them or hate them, both SUVs and electric cars are here to stay now, and their rocketing sales only tell half the story.

Even though nothing official has been heard from the two companies’ MoU since the initial press release back in January, some pieces of information have reached us indirectly, so we put two and two together and tried to make some sense out of it.

While Lotus currently has a lineup that has diminished in numbers in recent years, it still offers an actual model range. Alpine’s lineup, on the other hand, consists of a single model with two performance specs, the A110 and A110S.

Launched back in 2017 to reviews that varied from ‘raving’ to ‘lukewarm,’ the A110 is not exactly a best-seller and it’s also getting a bit long in the tooth, with its second generation being planned for 2025.

As per the MoU with Lotus, that second generation will be electric and will also have a British correspondent, but with that in mind, why would Lotus need Alpine’s expertise in developing a future Esprit or whatever electric model they have in mind?

Well, for one thing, Alpine has a lot of backing from Renault and its Formula 1 plans and recent results make it seem like they’re in full attack mode for the foreseeable future.

On top of it, Alpine’s longstanding partnership with BorgWarner was recently re-signed and is set to continue indeterminately, and BorgWarner’s acquisition of Delphi Technologies back in 2019 has led to speculation that Delphi’s silicon carbine inverter with an 800V traction pack could be a perfect fit for a future EV sports car.

In other words, Lotus would benefit from both slashed R&D costs and access to some of the best EV technology on the market for its upcoming models, while Alpine can profit from the work of some of the best chassis engineers in the business. History is exempt from hearing anyone say something bad about the handling of a Lotus, even the Isuzu-powered Elan M100, or the only front-wheel-drive Lotus in history.

Getting back to the Alpina A110, a peculiar prototype of the model was recently spotted on public roads with both ends of the vehicle being covered up in camouflage. Despite that, the car looks identical to the production version, meaning that we’re looking at one of two things.

The prototype is either an early mule for the future Lotus/Alpine collaboration, or is testing some features for an upcoming mid-cycle facelift of the A110.

Either way, it spells even better news for both Alpine and Lotus, since their expanding plans appear to be closer than ever.

To sum it up, the next 3-4 years are crucial for most of the most traditional small-carmakers out there, and a collaboration between two established brands that have been playing the short-game lately could result in some of the coolest cars, not just their continuous survival. Watch this space!