Alpine A110 S
Our reigning coupé champ has a lower kerbweight and smaller engine than test rivals. Is it a lightweight in this company, though?
Model tested: Alpine A110 S PRice: £57,140 engine: 1.8-litre 4cyl, 288bhp
Alpine’s reborn A110 has been a massive hit. it’s our reigning coupé champion, taking the title last year at our new Car Awards, and it’s back here in upgraded A110 s form, priced from £57,140.
Design & engineering
Despite engine tweaks upping the
1.8-litre four-cylinder turbocharged unit’s power and torque outputs to 288bhp and 320nm respectively, the core of the A110 s is the same as the standard car. that means low weight is key, and the bespoke aluminium chassis and aluminium components for the all-round double wishbone suspension help keep this figure down to 1,114kg. that’s a massive 511kg lighter than the BMW, which means that although the Alpine gives away 156bhp and 230nm of torque to the M2 Cs, its claimed performance isn’t too far behind.
this isn’t a machine focused on straight-line shove anyway, it’s all about handling. From the ground up the s wears wider tyres wrapped in a new compound of rubber compared with the standard A110, the ride height has been reduced by 4mm, and the suspension’s springs are a whopping 50 per cent stiffer, with the damping rates retuned accordingly. the hollow anti-roll bars are 100 per cent stiffer.
Alpine’s intentions of making the s a more focused version of the A110 are obvious. there’s an optional carbon-fibre roof to further lower the centre of gravity, even if its aesthetic benefit might be more noticeable than its engineering contribution (it’s only a 1.9kg saving, but it all helps), while forged Fuchs alloys hide Brembo four-piston front brake calipers.
some more orange detailing, a few chequered flag logos and our car’s matte grey paint are all bespoke to the A110 s, too, but despite topping the range there are fewer options available. there’s a level of core kit to broadly match the M2 as well (see our through the range panel on the next page to see what’s standard), while quality is sound. the sabelt sports seats are nice, but there are more hard materials and surfaces than in the BMW or porsche – it’s obvious this is the most pared-back machine here.
Driving
As soon as you drive the A110 s you notice its extra focus compared with the standard car. But in comparison with its rivals it still has the wonderfully rewarding flowing ride quality and supple sensation in the way its suspension works. that can only come from the car’s low weight, which has a massive impact on every area dynamically.
the steering is also light, but you can feel the level of adjustability and the pointiness Alpine has engineered into the chassis and coaxed from the platform with the tweaks to the A110 for this s.
it offers something neither the M2 nor Cayman can. it feels devoid of excess mass and therefore so agile and willing to respond to your inputs, with seemingly little delay between you making them and the car reacting, even if the sensations that make it feel alive also mean it feels a little less tied down.
Despite its relatively humdrum engine compared with its competitors’, that lack of mass shows its benefits again as the dual-clutch-only Alpine takes
just 4.4 seconds to sprint from 0-62mph. The motor gargles away behind you but picks up strongly and revs with verve for a turbo at higher revs. The dual-clutch gearbox’s upshifts are fast enough, but it feels more laboured going down the ratios; the CS’s transmission isn’t perfect either, jerking changes under full throttle sometimes. Both are fine if left to their own devices.
Practicality
THE A110 S is the most compact car here. It’s so low that the seat is reclined to not otherwise compromise forward visibility, but this means that while the seat does offer support, the driving position isn’t the most comfortable. The BMW ’s driving position is a little too high, but the Porsche’s is perfect, with the widest range of adjustment for the seat and wheel.
Housing its engine in the middle and fuel tank at the front compromises the Alpine’s luggage space, even when compared with the mid-engined GTS, although the Porsche is a physically larger car. There is a total of 96 litres under the A110’s low nose – it’s a shallow, square-shaped tray – with 100 litres under a small boot flap in the tail. The space is usable and will take two squashy bags, it’s just that the opening is small. There’s some room behind the seats, too.
Visibility is much more restricted in the Alpine, as is storage, so the front and rear parking sensors really do come in handy. A rear camera costs £480.
Ownership
ALPINE didn’t rank in our Driver Power 2020 poll, but it’s owned by Renault and uses a similar engine to that in the Mégane R. S. 300 Trophy, which we know is a punchy, reliable unit. Renault finished 15th out of 30 brands this year.
The A110 S has autonomous braking and four airbags as standard, but no option to add tech such as blind-spot monitoring or lane-keep assist. The aluminium structure is strong and stiff, though, so the safety cell offers lots of protection, like its rivals.
Running costs
THE lightweight Alpine is by far the cheapest machine to run for business users. With CO2 emissions of 163g/km, it’ll cost a higher-rate taxpayer £7,957 a year.
Despite offering the most power and weighing the most, the CS’s turbocharged engine and DCT gearbox do at least mean a respectable 223g/km. This is the most expensive car here, so it’ll still cost the same company car driver £1,328 more a year to run than the GTS, at £10,871 in total.
However, few people are likely to use these cars as business vehicles, so fuel economy, servicing and insurance could be more important. As a comparison with its rivals, a new Michelin Pilot Sport 4S rear tyre costs £133 fitted on the A110 S.