RSS_Auto_Poster
Well-known member
Written by Ollie Marriage
The problem for Alpine is convincing sports car buyers that 249bhp is enough. It"s barely a hot hatch output the Megane Renaultsport which also features this 1.8-litre turbocharged four cylinder has 276bhp (and 287lb ft against the Alpine"s 236lb ft). How"s Alpine meant to compete against the Porsche 718 Cayman, where the base version has 296bhp and the uprated S with its turbocharged 2.5-litre, has 345bhp? That"s almost 100bhp more. And it has over 30 per cent more torque. Game over, before it"s begun? Of course not, because power is only one side of the acceleration equation. On the other sits weight. The Alpine, even in fully gussied up Premiere Edition guise, weighs only 1103kg (that"s 2432lb, America). A Cayman S is 1355kg (2987lb). Over a quarter of a tonne heavier (or 555lb, if you insist). So we arrive at the crucial power-to-weight ratio, which, if you"re good at doing maths in your head, you"ll have already worked out still favours the Porsche. 255bhp/tonne plays 226, while torque-to-weight has a tonne of Porsche pushed along by 229lb ft to the A110"s 214lb ft.
Date written: 22 Jan 2019
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 14614
The problem for Alpine is convincing sports car buyers that 249bhp is enough. It"s barely a hot hatch output the Megane Renaultsport which also features this 1.8-litre turbocharged four cylinder has 276bhp (and 287lb ft against the Alpine"s 236lb ft). How"s Alpine meant to compete against the Porsche 718 Cayman, where the base version has 296bhp and the uprated S with its turbocharged 2.5-litre, has 345bhp? That"s almost 100bhp more. And it has over 30 per cent more torque. Game over, before it"s begun? Of course not, because power is only one side of the acceleration equation. On the other sits weight. The Alpine, even in fully gussied up Premiere Edition guise, weighs only 1103kg (that"s 2432lb, America). A Cayman S is 1355kg (2987lb). Over a quarter of a tonne heavier (or 555lb, if you insist). So we arrive at the crucial power-to-weight ratio, which, if you"re good at doing maths in your head, you"ll have already worked out still favours the Porsche. 255bhp/tonne plays 226, while torque-to-weight has a tonne of Porsche pushed along by 229lb ft to the A110"s 214lb ft.
Date written: 22 Jan 2019
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 14614
