Before Alpine is expected to switch the A110 to purely electric drive from 2026, the French will really let it rip again. With the A110 R, the most radical version of the mid-engine sports car is now hitting the road. Just for fun.
According to the "Renaulution" strategic plan of the French car manufacturer Renault, only electric athletes are to be developed and built under the umbrella of Alpine from 2024. The sports coupé A110 will then also only be available with a power connection - probably from 2026. But before that happens, the French let it all out again. According to Alpine, the new A110 R is the "most radical form" of the iconic mid-engine sports car. A seemingly uncompromising street sweeper, just for fun.
And so that you can see where the fresh wind is blowing from, Alpine is painting its new toy in the matte blue of the current A522 Formula 1 cars. The carbon roof always shines in black. The French do not operate on the heart. As with the previous top model A110 S, 221 kW/300 hp and 340 Newton meters should be enough. Or rather: must. Because a further increase in performance with more torque would not have gone along with the already reinforced dual-clutch transmission. And developing a completely new one would have been too expensive.
Visually and in detail, however, the sports coupé is radicalized. The Frenchman becomes a road-legal racing car. Which shouldn't please everyone, since the modern sports suit takes away a bit of the innocence of the classic retro line of the A110, and the purist aspect falls by the wayside.
We see larger air intakes on the front apron, the carbon spoiler lip and the rear wing, which is attached to a gooseneck bracket, is mounted a little further back and has a smaller angle of attack, come from the A110 S. The diffuser at the rear is wider, and new underbody fins are designed to channel the airflow more effectively. In conjunction with the complete aero package, the measures bring a significant improvement in contact pressure, according to Alpine. So more braking control and better road holding at high cornering speeds. The so-called down force at the rear increases by 29 kilograms at a top speed of 280 km/h, and the air resistance in racing trim drops by up to five percent.
The consistent reduction in weight was also on the Renault subsidiary's to-do list. The front hood is now made entirely of lightweight carbon fiber composite material, as are the rocker panels. The diffuser is made of carbon and fiberglass, the bulkhead to the engine compartment is made of aluminum. Alpine also builds the rear cover from carbon and instead of the usual rear window there are now only two small air intakes for the engine. Even the 18-inch wheels specially developed for the A110 R together with racing prototype manufacturer Duqueine are made of carbon and are therefore 12.5 kilos lighter than on the A110 S. It is only logical that Alpine finally also largely threw the insulating material out of the car. In the end, the A110 R starts with a fighting weight of just 1082 kilos - 34 less than the A110 S.
Stop, don't freak out just yet, there's more to come. At its core, the professional device also has a character that is fully focused on racing. Michelin semi-slicks are fitted as standard, which have an extremely short fuse when it is wet. The Brembo brake system has 32 centimeter large, internally ventilated composite discs, the sports chassis with hydraulically adjustable Sachs shock absorbers has been lowered by one centimetre, the anti-roll bars and springs are designed to be stiffer.
Before we throw ourselves into the curves, a look at the racing suit of the A110 R. "Light fare" here too: red loops instead of door openers, carbon seat shells, no interior mirror, plus 6-point harness belts from racing - slimmed down kilo by kilo . And you notice that when the sportiest lady in the house gets going. It's almost as if she can breathe more freely now. The power-to-weight ratio is only 3.9 kilos per hp, Alpine promises the sprint to speed with Launch Control in 3.9 seconds, 1000 meters should be done from a standing start in 21.9 seconds. Values that per se read well on every sports car’s business card.
What is surprising is that the A110 R has a good portion of empathy with it on its mission. The chassis doesn't polish the intervertebral discs - as you might expect - humorlessly, the sparsely upholstered bucket seats aren't rock-hard, the engine didn't gargle with pastis and mercilessly perforate your eardrums. All humane, there is no extremist at work here who confuses everyday life with the racetrack. If you want, the A110 R turns every curve into a straight line. Almost sticks to the asphalt. But he can also do zone 30. Some people might not even be able to keep up with enough sportsmanship if the new top athlete could be even more radical.
Whoever goes on the circuit with the A110 R certainly has what it takes in the toolbox to further sharpen their character. In the hunt for tenths of a second, the chassis (with the wheels removed) can be lowered by another centimeter and the rebound and compression stages of the dampers can be adjusted twenty times to suit your personal driving style. Parameters such as throttle response, steering response or gear shift points can be individually adjusted, as can ESP and the exhaust sound. Voilá - the alpine racing is done.
So the solvent customer gets a fan article that the French can gild. At 103,000 euros, the A110 R is not only almost 30,000 euros more expensive than the A110 S, it also costs almost 17,000 euros more than a 400 hp Porsche Cayman GTS. A pretty radical course.
Alpine A110 R - technical specifications
