The New Alpine A110 Is A 247bhp, Lightweight Way To Annoy Cayman Owners

We may have already seen the outside of the new Alpine A110, but this week we finally learned what’s going on under the skin of the new mid-engined sports car. The answer? Quite a bit of power, and not a lot of weight.

We’re talking 247bhp, which only has 1080kg to shift around. That means the largely aluminium machine will do 0-62mph in 4.5 seconds - exactly the same as the Alfa Romeo 4C, and faster than all 718 Caymans bar the S when equipped with PDK.

Power comes not from the 1.6-litre Renaultsport Clio engine as previously expected, rather a new 1.8-litre Renault/Nissan developed unit. Something that the A110 does share with the Clio RS though is a lack of manual gearbox option: it’s available only with a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.

Top speed is electronically limited to 155mph, and the Alpine is helped at the top end by a drag coefficient of 0.32 - 0.1 off the aforementioned Cayman. The slippery shape obviously helps, but to further reduce drag there are air inlets in the front bumper, designed to create a ‘curtain’ along the front wheel wells to improve air flow.

The aluminium construction of the A110 helps trim the fat considerably, but there’s also a pair of one-piece bucket seats provided by Sabelt that weigh a pithy 13.1kg each, and some relatively small wheels. Alpine hasn’t been tempted to fit enormous 20-inch rims to the A110, instead choosing forged Otto Fuchs 18-inch wheels for the job.

Like the look of it? UK pricing hasn’t confirmed just yet, but elsewhere in Europe the high-spec Premiere Edition will set you back €58,500.