Renault Alpine Concept Debuts At Monaco GP

I've had Renaults on the mind lately, so it's just merely great timing that the French brand is reviving their Alpine sports car after a 17-year hiatus.  There've been rumors of an Alpine revival circulating for a while now, and the reality is even more striking than the conjecture: meet the Renault-Alpine A110-50 concept, named to celebrate 50 years of Alpine - and commemorate the original A110 sports car.

The A110 wasn't the first Alpine, but it was the first that became well known in the motorsports world, winning numerous rallies in the early 70's.  Powered by various four-cylinder Renault engines (first from the R8, later the 16 and 17), the A110 dominated the back roads with a combination of low weight and "adjustable" handling.

Anyway, after the A110 came the 310, GTA, and finally the 610 - all rear-engined sleds.  And then nothing after 1995.  Now Renault is bringing back the blue hotness at this weekend's Monaco Grand Prix.  The A110-50 has shades of the old Dieppe rocket in it's shape, but there's more modern influences as well: most obvious is the Renault Dezir concept from the 2010 Paris Show.

While the old Alpines were rally warriors, this new one looks more like a track toy than a street car: which is logical, because it uses the Megane Trophy tube-frame chassis underneath.  That means a longitudinal V6 sourced from Nissan, mounted behind the seats and driving the rear wheels.  Renault says it's good for over 400 horsepower in this tune, which should make the lightweight concept an amusing steer.

Other than that, there's not much information about the A110-50 to go on yet, so enjoy the gallery of images below - more details on this concept should be coming soon.  The big question is though: if we tell Renault to shut up and take our money, will they listen?

Update with more details:  Renault dropped the press release on the A110-50 today, and there aren't a lot of surprises.  It does indeed have a 400-horsepower Nissan VQ35 mounted in the middle, hooked to a six-speed sequential gearbox, and weighs in at 1,940lbs (880kg).  It sits on the Megane Trophy chassis as mentioned earlier, with the wheelbase identical but wider track widths on both ends.  365mm 6-piston brakes in front, and 330mm 4-piston brakes in the rear keep the concept in check.

On the outside, the body is formed of carbon fiber for lower weight.  The doors open upwards, with the front and rear clamshells tipping upwards as well when open.  The color is meant to evoke traditional Alpine blue, with a brighter and more modern feel.  The wheels are central locking, and the A110-50 has a 47% forward weight distribution.  The big question remains: is this headed for production?  Renault was ambiguous, only saying they were interested in reviving the Alpine brand in the future.  This would be a good start!