Inquisition

New Alpine boss Patrick Marinoff is braced for a rewrite of the sports car rules of engagement

Patrick Marinoff , Alpine’s new boss

Dream job or poisoned chalice? Alpine’s new managing director is certain he’s landed the role of a lifetime. But after two decades in the auto business – including being head of Maybach when Daimler decided to bin it as a standalone brand – he’s well aware of the way that what looks like a rock-solid route into the future can turn out to be quicksand.

Running Alpine for Renault really does sound like a great position, though. The world loves the A110, and there’s a deep-running affection for Alpine’s heritage. However, although everyone in France knows what an Alpine is, in some countries the name means nothing. Then there are the aftershocks of the Carlos Ghosn affair, with more to come when the former Renault-Nissan alliance chief’s trial on financial misconduct charges begins in Japan. And the global sports car market is shrinking.

There’s also the rather happier problem of the A110 being such a great product that it could be extremely tricky to follow.

Marinoff, a German who spent all his pre-Alpine career in the Daimler empire, says: ‘I’ve been in the car industry for 21 years in different jobs, from marketing strategy to running the

Maybach brand and being head of sales at AMG. When I was asked to become MD of Alpine I didn’t hesitate, because when can you ever have the chance to be responsible for such a brand in your life?

‘We have a lot of options, a lot of routes we could go down. And we have to find the right timing, and the right direction. You need to have a portfolio of models. Right now we have a folio varying within the A110 range, but of course it’s one car. To cater for more needs and customers, you need more cars. There will be a new model from Alpine coming up, although I cannot tell you what and when.’

An Alpine-branded compact SUV has long been rumoured, and Marinoff is open to exploring new segments: ‘If you look at what we could do, I think there are two major ways. When you have a rich history, as we are glad to have, you can look back and say “This is what the brand has done in the past that has worked – there is an anchor we can use for new models”.

‘On the other hand, you have to be aware of what’s going on in the markets, which segments are financially viable, and see if there is space for the Alpine brand promise – which is being a very modern and intelligent interpretation of a sporty car.

‘And I think sportiness is not something limited to twoseater coupes. You can have sportiness in various fields and various segments.’ Nor does he rule out electrification, so long as it can be executed in keeping with Alpine’s philosophy of lightweight, compact design.

As for the A110 itself, Marinoff hints there is headroom above the A110S for a harder still version. A 300bhp+ A110 RS, anyone? Rumours abound too of a potential stripped-out, ultra-light A110, weighing close to 1000kg – a little like a Lotus Sprint model. An apt comparison, as reports are circulating of discussions with Lotus about pooling resources. After all, sports car platforms are expensive to develop for a small market – and Lotus’s new owner Geely is a shareholder in Daimler, Marinoff’s old home. And Lotus is working on an SUV…

But that’s conjecture. In the meantime, Alpine has a hit on its hands in the lithe A110. ‘I drove the car as a mystery shopper before taking the job, and it gave me confidence I would find a team in engineering and marketing that really know their job,’ says Marinoff. ‘All this is baked into that beautiful car, and I knew it would make sense to come here.’

Although the A110 is a traditional two-seat sports car, Marinoff says it’s also in step with the times: ‘It’s lightweight, it’s not about numbers. The A110 creates a great experience, but it’s not using massive resources to do so. The numbers that matter in the future might be, let’s say, emotional kicks per second – it may no longer be about horsepower or top speed, it might be the level of fun that the car creates. I think we are very good at this.’

And where would Alpine sit should the future be dominated by autonomous cars? ‘There’s a fantastic quote from Ferry Porsche, that the last car ever built will probably be a sports car. I think that’s very true. Maybe, in the far future, driving sports cars will be a leisure activity on tracks and outside cities, while inside cities we will have autonomous transport. But driving, feeling at one with the vehicle and mastering it, I think that will be around forever.’

JAMES TAYLOR