Alpine launches wild 350hp A110 R Ultime at Paris
The EV Alpine A110 is still coming - but not before a spectacular £200k limited edition run-out model arrives
The Alpine A110 R was already quite extreme as special editions go, with its carbon wheels, deleted rear window and aggressive weightsaving on an already very slender sports car. But apparently Alpine wasn’t done - not by a long shot. Before the A110 as we know it is killed off to make way for the electric version, it will sign off in incredible style with this, the R Ultime.
There will be just 110, appropriately enough, and cranks the dial to breaking point on every element of a wonderful little sports car. We’ll get to the design (and the price), but the powertrain is especially interesting for the Ultime because, at last, here’s an A110 that can take some more torque. Which has meant ditching the seven-speed DCT, for some idea of the lengths gone to for this car, replaced with something called a DW6 gearbox.
Google says this is a six-speed Renault dual-clutch unit, but it must be stronger as new turbo parts (compressor and turbine) means the 1.8-litre turbo is now churning out 350hp and 310lb ft. ‘In RON102’, says Alpine, so an Ultime will want V-Power at the very least, but they represent gains of 50hp and 59lb ft respectively over any previous A110. None of which were slow. This time around, Alpine says 192hp per litre and not very much mass (there isn’t a kerbweight yet, but it’s an A110) is good for 0-62mph in 3.8 seconds.
Furthermore, this thing is far more than just a more powerful R (though that’d be pretty damn great already). The dampers are now Ohlins adjustable items, the braking system is Ultime-bespoke - with new ducts, racier pads and AP Racing discs - and there’s another 160kg of downforce compared to an R Turini. Alpine says that the Ultime runs forged wheels on Michelin Pilot Sport 2 Cup tyres, suggesting perhaps that the glorious carbon wheels are a tad more hassle than they’re worth. An Akrapovic exhaust is standard.
What will really set this A110 apart from all the rest, however, is the level of personalisation on offer. There are two levels - Atelier and Atelier Sur Measure - which benefit from collaborations with Sabelt and Poltrana Frau for ‘unprecedented diversity’ when it comes to colours and materials. The first tier (Atelier) offers up 27 exterior paints, four Alcantara shades inside (grey, blue, red, orange), which can then also be matched to stitching, dash and floor mats. Sur-Mesure adds another nine Alcantara colours, leather in 10 colours, plus embroidery, embossing and braiding for the upholstery. The external carbon can be coloured now as well. Perhaps not the first thing that comes to mind with the Alpine A110, but you can be those lucky enough to grab an Ultime will take full advantage of the opportunity to make a unique one.
Or they could just have blue, of course. The motor show car shown at Paris is something called a ‘La Bleue’ edition, with 15 cars from the run set to be just like this. So that’s Alpine Vision Blue and Abysse Blue together in a hand-finished gradient that’s also matched to the interior, and an asking price of, er, €330,000. Or £276,000. Makes the €265,000 (£222,000, currently) asked for the other 95 look like a bargain, right, especially with all those colours that aren’t blue on offer.
What are the other downsides? I appreciate this is only a tiny run of model production hence they might take some higher risks, but it does beg the question of why not go with the DW6 earlier in the car? I'd posit that the negatives of the uprated box can only be lived with on a short-run special …
Line it up alongside £100k Mclarens and Ferraris and it will be invisible. And if you don't care about that then you're a legend in my eyes.
I own an Alpine and I absolutely adore it. It's the type of car I can just jump in and have a hoot just tootling about, turning every road in to my own race track.
But if I wanted something more hardcore I think I'd go for something like a 987 Spyder and put a lightweight flywheel in it.
Line it up alongside £100k Mclarens and Ferraris and it will be invisible. And if you don't care about that then you're a legend in my eyes.
I own an Alpine and I absolutely adore it. It's the type of car I can just jump in and have a hoot just tootling about, turning every road in to my own race track.
But if I wanted something more hardcore I think I'd go for something like a 987 Spyder and put a lightweight flywheel in it.
Tbf though my humble R
gets a reasonable amount of attention no matter what it's parked next to.TX.
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