REVIVING THE A110 NAME WAS A SIMPLE DECISION BECAUSE THE PRINCIPLES BETWEEN THE OLD AND NEW VERSIONS ARE THE SAME

therefore with the backing of a multinational corporation – and its production expertise and economies of scale and unimaginable research and development resources – that Alpine makes its comeback today.

‘There’s a real pride both within the many employees of the Renault Group and in France and abroad for this brand,’ says Alpine managing director Michael van der Sande. ‘It instils passion. It’s a huge responsibility [to bring the brand back] and we take it very seriously. We’re trying to do justice to the original Alpines of the past with a lightweight sports car that’s hopefully going to be as much fun to drive as the original A110 was.’

Reviving the A110 name was ultimately a simple decision, van der Sande explains, because the principles between the old and new versions are the same, despite being separated by half a century. ‘A very lightweight sports car that punches above its weight in terms of performance is very relevant, not just in the ’60s and ’70s, but also today,’ he says.

The engineering team behind the A110 were fanatical about weight, which yielded a 1103kg total. The class-leading Porsche 718 Cayman, benchmarked by Alpine’s engineers throughout the development process, is more than 230kg heavier. The A110’s aluminium structure alone is reckoned to save 180kg compared to a steel one, while the very compact dimensions – the A110 is 20cm shorter than a Cayman – have also helped to keep weight down.

Chief engineer David Twohig admits he lost a night’s sleep toying with the idea of fixing the passenger seat in position. Eventually, he decided the 500g saving wouldn’t have been worth the inconvenience.

The engine is a 1.8-litre, single-turbo directinjection unit. It will appear in forthcoming Renault models, so isn’t unique to Alpine. Power is rated at 249bhp and torque at 230Nm, which means the A110 has a Cayman-rivalling