New A110 sports car on sale in Singapore soon, heralds a new beginning for the revived French brand Alpine
Photos: Alpine
– Alpine has mentioned an indicative price of S$285,000 for the A110, but that is subject to change after undergoing homologation.
-FIRST PUBLISHED: January 9, 2018
-UPDATED: January 10, 2018
Singapore
Wearnes Automotive, the distributor for Renault here, has announced it will begin sales of the Alpine A110 sports car at the Singapore Motorshow 2019, with pricing to be released shortly.
For a brand that has laid dormant for over two decades, Alpine’s comeback into the world of automobiles through the new A110 is both brave and refreshing.
 

 
Brave, as with the new A110 sports car, it has set its sights on competing with the likes of the Porsche 718 Cayman.
Alpine will not be toppling over any giants with its first effort in over 20 years, but making a vehicle that can go 0-100km/h in 4.5 seconds should bring it much closer to that goal.
The mid-mounted 1.8-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine has an output of 250hp with 320Nm of torque, with a top speed of 251km/h, numbers that on paper look comparable to the Cayman S.
 

 
Global reservations for the two-door, two-seat A110 have surpassed 5,000 units, proving real demand for a machine that prides itself on “rewarding drivers of all abilities”.
The A110 is based upon an aluminium platform and body to reduce weight, but this is not the only reduction these gram-nazis have made – the optional fixed Sabelt seats weigh in at only 13kg each, giving the 4.2-metre-long, 1.8-metre-wide machine a total weight of just 1,103kg. Known for its light cars, Alpine doesn’t stray far in this comeback attempt.
 

 
The centre console provides the user with gearchange buttons and an USB socket – your iphone should fit sleekly into the front pouch as well. There is also ample room for occupants, Alpine has made sure a two-metre tall person can fit comfortably.
 

Purists will be disappointed by the lack of a manual gearshift option, but seven-speed dual-clutch box with paddle-shifters should satisfy.

 
Alpine began in 1955, founded by Jean Redele, and would go on to win 26 domestic and international rally titles (including the 1973 FIA World Rally Championship and 1978 24 Hours of Le Mans) in its history.
 

 
However like many smaller or boutique car brands, it never quite achieved big time stability, even after being bought over by Renault in 1974, and it produced its last road car, the A610, in 1995.
Also known as la Berlinette, the original A110 had a production run from 1961 to 1977. The model was a hit but it would be another four decades before the world would see another one.
Staying true to its original concepts of an agile, lightweight, and ultimately fun to drive car, Alpine looks like it has the potential to succeed once more and in fact our sister magazine Top Gear has reviewed the A110 and pronounced it very good indeed.