Stig Drifts the Alpine A110, Car Feels Like a Clumsy Drift Queen

Obviously, we couldn't miss the chance of seeing the manic Stig do something he isn't supposed to do. And that is drifting a sub-300 horsepower, rear mid-engined French-built piece of equipment. Even though this hommage to the original A110 that debuted decades ago is quite a light vehicle, coming in at around 2,400 lbs (1,100 kg), it does have two problems, for what drifting purposes concern at least.

Rear mid-engine vehicles have never really made their way into the drift scene. Not that they're not capable of going sideways around a corner, but their weight distribution comes in as a big issue: 44% on the front axles and 56% on the rear axles. Now, they've tried drifting the Porsche 993 GT2, they've tried drifting the Toyota MR2, and we could probably include a few more RMR vehicles in here, but the results were never there.

Granted, if cars are constantly on your mind, and you dream about that perfect lap around the Nordschleife in something truly special, just seeing the Alpine A110 by itself is enough to get intrigued. Stig was the obvious choice once again, as he sits behind the wheel of the little 249 horsepower French contraption, anxious to have it momentarily lose traction before countersteering it down the right path.

As expected, he is facing a mountain, which he cannot surpass even with the most godlike of skills. The Alpine A110 clearly doesn't enjoy being driven that way, and nor does it look very easy to recover from a mistake if you're pushing it too hard. Although the producers label the sideways action as "great", the Alpine A110 is a likely candidate for the title of "Clumsy Drift Queen".