Photo: Alpine
Société des Automobiles Alpine SAS may not ring a bell to American automotive enthusiasts, and I wouldn’t be surprised by it. Even after it was absorbed by French juggernaut Renault and resurrected in 2017 with a mid-engine sports car, Alpine still is as niche as an automaker can be.
This anonymity can’t go on, and the first step in making Alpine a household name worldwide is Formula 1. More to the point, the higher-ups in France decided to rebrand the Renault works team into Alpine for the 2021 season. The highest tier of open-cockpit motorsport also happens to put an emphasis on efficiency with hybrid V6 engines, but Alpine’s product plan for road-going cars has switched from internal combustion to all-electric power.
Following approval by the board of directors, head honcho Luca de Meo announced a strategic makeover split in three phases. These are called “Resurrection, Renovation, and Revolution,” and the gist of this turnaround is that Alpine aims to become profitable in 2025 with three new entries.
As you can tell from the main photo, the vehicle in the middle is an SUV with the quad-lamp motif of the A110 sports car. The mystery model with the lower roofline appears to be a corner carver in its own right. As for the third newcomer, “for me” is everything that Alpine is willing to share about it.
The boutique automaker from Dieppe will combine Alpine cars, Renault Sport cars, and the Renault Sport racing department into a single entity, “dedicated to developing exclusive and innovative sports cars.” To achieve profitability, Alpine is also going to leverage the scale and capabilities of the CMF-B and CMF-EV platforms. I know what you’re thinking, and you’re spot on.
Neither Renault nor Nissan offer an all-electric model on the Common Module Family’s B-segment vehicle architecture, which casts a little doubt over the fully-electric promise made today. The CMF-B also happens to be too small for the upcoming crossover and the successor of the A110. Speaking of which, the next-generation EV sports car is under development with Lotus.
Whatever the future holds, I'm glad that Groupe Renault has never been so decisive about turning Alpine into a profitable company until today.
Following approval by the board of directors, head honcho Luca de Meo announced a strategic makeover split in three phases. These are called “Resurrection, Renovation, and Revolution,” and the gist of this turnaround is that Alpine aims to become profitable in 2025 with three new entries.
As you can tell from the main photo, the vehicle in the middle is an SUV with the quad-lamp motif of the A110 sports car. The mystery model with the lower roofline appears to be a corner carver in its own right. As for the third newcomer, “for me” is everything that Alpine is willing to share about it.
The boutique automaker from Dieppe will combine Alpine cars, Renault Sport cars, and the Renault Sport racing department into a single entity, “dedicated to developing exclusive and innovative sports cars.” To achieve profitability, Alpine is also going to leverage the scale and capabilities of the CMF-B and CMF-EV platforms. I know what you’re thinking, and you’re spot on.
Neither Renault nor Nissan offer an all-electric model on the Common Module Family’s B-segment vehicle architecture, which casts a little doubt over the fully-electric promise made today. The CMF-B also happens to be too small for the upcoming crossover and the successor of the A110. Speaking of which, the next-generation EV sports car is under development with Lotus.
Whatever the future holds, I'm glad that Groupe Renault has never been so decisive about turning Alpine into a profitable company until today.
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