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Written by Stephen Dobie
At last! It"s the Alpine A110 in production form. Renault has been teasing and titillating us with pesky details and pictures for a long time. But at last, at the 2017 Geneva motor show, the whole car has broken cover.We think it"s very pretty. You may not. Either way, isn"t it brilliant to have another proper mid-engined rival for the Porsche Cayman, with only the mixed-bag Alfa Romeo 4C and overly hardcore Lotus Exige to speak of otherwise?Both its name and styling are unashamedly retro nods to the original and incredibly dinky Alpine A110. The new car is inevitably larger (and sits between a 4C and 718 Cayman in size) though at just 1,080kg, it"s pleasingly light.All the better for making best use of its engine. Like its two closest rivals, it uses a four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine, here a 1.8-litre producing 249bhp and 236lb ft.Linked exclusively to a paddleshift gearbox a twin-clutch setup with seven speeds it"ll complete 0-62mph in 4.5secs, which is 0.1sec quicker than a near-100bhp healthier 718 Cayman S. The Porsche is over 20mph faster overall mind, with the A110"s top speed electronically limited to 155mph.Normal, Sport and Track modes alter the engine and transmission"s responses, as well as stability control settings, steering weight and exhaust noise. But if that sounds a bit complex, performance car nerds can delight at a spec list that reads like a who"s who of performance car components: the brakes are Brembos, Getrag makes the gearbox, the 18in wheels are by Fuchs and the seats are Sabelts.And the fundamentals sound right, too: mid-engine, rear-drive and with a 44/56 weight split towards the rear, both fuel tank and engine sitting within the axles. The fancy fuel filler cap should identify which end the former sits at
Date written: 3 Mar 2017
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 6980
At last! It"s the Alpine A110 in production form. Renault has been teasing and titillating us with pesky details and pictures for a long time. But at last, at the 2017 Geneva motor show, the whole car has broken cover.We think it"s very pretty. You may not. Either way, isn"t it brilliant to have another proper mid-engined rival for the Porsche Cayman, with only the mixed-bag Alfa Romeo 4C and overly hardcore Lotus Exige to speak of otherwise?Both its name and styling are unashamedly retro nods to the original and incredibly dinky Alpine A110. The new car is inevitably larger (and sits between a 4C and 718 Cayman in size) though at just 1,080kg, it"s pleasingly light.All the better for making best use of its engine. Like its two closest rivals, it uses a four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine, here a 1.8-litre producing 249bhp and 236lb ft.Linked exclusively to a paddleshift gearbox a twin-clutch setup with seven speeds it"ll complete 0-62mph in 4.5secs, which is 0.1sec quicker than a near-100bhp healthier 718 Cayman S. The Porsche is over 20mph faster overall mind, with the A110"s top speed electronically limited to 155mph.Normal, Sport and Track modes alter the engine and transmission"s responses, as well as stability control settings, steering weight and exhaust noise. But if that sounds a bit complex, performance car nerds can delight at a spec list that reads like a who"s who of performance car components: the brakes are Brembos, Getrag makes the gearbox, the 18in wheels are by Fuchs and the seats are Sabelts.And the fundamentals sound right, too: mid-engine, rear-drive and with a 44/56 weight split towards the rear, both fuel tank and engine sitting within the axles. The fancy fuel filler cap should identify which end the former sits at
Date written: 3 Mar 2017
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 6980
