Alpine Just Built Its Last A110 (Until The New One Is Revealed Next Week)
The second generation of legendary French sports car maker Alpine's lightweight, driver-focused A110 officially ended production on July 1. Though the Alpine A110 was never sold on U.S. soil, we admired it from across the pond, collectively creating a massive puddle of drool for the nine years this spunky French coupe was in production. Fortunately it won't be gone for long, since Alpine will unveil its successor next weekend at the Goodwood Festival Of Speed. Alpine sold 28,701 second-generation A110s since it launched in 2017, with more than 58% of those cars sold with blue paint, and 33% finished in the automaker's signature, striking shade of Bleu Alpine.
The next-generation A110 will be an electric two-seat sports car that will compete with the electric Porsche Cayman if and when that arrives. The outgoing A110 was lauded for its engaging driving dynamics, thrilling handling, and characterful demeanor, so the electric successor will have a lot to live up to. Alpine has also said it's developing a gas version of the new A110, just in case some markets don't respond well to the EV.
Why are we covering this news if the A110 was never sold in the U.S.? Well, dear reader, we've previously reported on Alpine's decision to crash test the next-generation A110 for the U.S. market, and the company has had serious talks with U.S. dealers. Hopefully, when the new A110 is revealed next week it will come with the announcement of the brand's entry into America.
The next A110 is likely to come to the U.S.
The numbers for the next-generation car are supposed to be quite good, too. Alpine's CEO says it will sit as low as the outgoing car and achieve a range of more than 340 miles. And thanks to splitting the 800-volt battery pack in two, with one half up front and the other in the rear, it'll have a 40:60 weight distribution, even more rear-biased than the outgoing model with it mid-mounted four-cylinder. Alpine's engineers have made sure the A110 EV complete three laps of the Nürburgring Nordschleife without the battery derating, and that it will have a curb weight around 3,300 pounds, so there's a lot to be excited about.
Alpine was founded in 1955 with the sole purpose of producing cars that abide by three pillars: agility, elegance, and a competitive spirit. It's now Renault Group's performance car brand, and yes, the same Alpine of the BWT Alpine F1 Team. With the end of A110 production, its current product portfolio consists of the electric A290 hot hatchback and the A390 coupe-style electric crossover.