life after A110 ownership?

[aea730]

I know it's a strange approach to car buying but im just wondering whether anyone else has looked to the time they decide to move the Alpine on. I won't say it concerns me but given the very niche nature of these cars I just wonder where you would go car choice wise after having one and also how easy it might be to dispose of the car. If you buy into the brand are you likely to be stuck in it, ie is that the only way to get a realistic value back for the car. Used prices seem strong but aside from a couple of cars these are all with main dealers.

I tend to keep my cars a couple of years but ive generally been in the mainstream products at £30k ish so moving around the market hasn't been difficult. Im guessing past owners have probably moved off the forum but Im interested to hear any thoughts on potential end of ownership scenarios.

[bcr5784]

Frankly can't see anything that I fancy as a future alternative. I've never kept my "fun" car for more than 4 or 5 years - but I can't see me replacing the A110 that soon.

[khart]

Hi. I had nearly 2 years of Alpine A110S ownership. Loved the car initially but the lack of luggage space meant I never used it as had envisaged. ( ( partner could not pack light !) . It broke down in the fast lane of the M25 and then had brake failure so I I decided I needed a fun car and returned to a Caterham (my 4th ) .
I bought it with the view it would be a forever car but realised it was for me not exciting enough as a second car. I tracked it a few times and it was good but I felt i did not had confidence in its reliability.
I appreciate this is not a widely held view and I do not regret buying and running it .

[a110au]

Every car has compromises. The more exotic/exciting the more money it will cost. The more dependable the more like an appliance it is.

Light weight confers a bunch of very tangible benefits and I don't see any sign more modern drivetrains in more modern cars will ever be under 1300kg let alone 1100kg. Even the 2026 mx5 is likely to go hybrid or electric. And it will become fat.

I dont see how alpine is going to reproduce the weight of the a110 in some electric form. So thats it. The last light car that is somewhat practical, until there is a huge power / weight breakthrough on batteries. And batteries do not make quantum leaps so it might be 2030 or 2040 before there can even be a 1000kg 300 mile car. But then, by 2040, cars will probably come with more driving and crash safety requirements that add yet more weight.

Of course if you forget about very light weight, or forget about practicality, there are many a110 substitutes.

Edited by a110au on Wednesday 29th March 07:45

[Whaleblue]

a110au said:

Every car has compromises. The more exotic/exciting the more money it will cost. The more dependable the more like an appliance it is.

Light weight confers a bunch of very tangible benefits and I don't see any sign more modern drivetrains in more modern cars will ever be under 1300kg let alone 1100kg. Even the 2026 mx5 is likely to go hybrid or electric. And it will become fat.

I dont see how alpine is going to reproduce the weight of the a110 in some electric form. So thats it. The last light car that is somewhat practical, until there is a huge power / weight breakthrough on batteries. And batteries do not make quantum leaps so it might be 2030 or 2040 before there can even be a 1000kg 300 mile car. But then, by 2040, cars will probably come with more driving and crash safety requirements that add yet more weight.

Of course if you forget about very light weight, or forget about practicality, there are many a110 substitutes.

Edited by a110au on Wednesday 29th March 07:45

This. I’d decided I was done with expensive sports cars having sold my Cayman S (987 Gen 2) four years ago. Gorgeous car (best looking Porsche ever), but in reality not much fun on real roads.

For the last few years my son and I have done track days at Thruxton. In 20/21 it was in their Caymans. But then we noticed the A110s, and I asked the instructor which we should book for our next outing. He simply, but quickly, pointed at the Alpine! So I ended up driving one last year. I genuinely knew very little about them, but the lightness was obvious by the time we’d reached the first corner. What an absolute delight to drive. Six months later I was in the Alpine showroom, and my beautiful Fire Orange A110 left the factory on Monday just gone. Picking her up later in April is the hope.

There won’t be anything else with this lightness unless there’s rapid progress with Fuel Cell technology (and perhaps moreover, infrastructure!). By that time, as au says there’ll likely be other reasons why cars will get heavier still. Get them while they’re hot.

Edited by Whaleblue on Wednesday 29th March 09:53

Edited by Whaleblue on Wednesday 29th March 09:54

[Terminator X]

^^ congrats as fire orange looks

TX.

[timbo999]

Ditto - I also first drove an A110 at Thruxton and have now had my Tango for two months. I miss the stupendous torque of my M240i but nothing else, especially not the weight (slightly unbelievably it weighed half a tonne more than my Alpine!).

A mate swapped his Pure for a Yaris GR... and that's probably the way I'd go as well (but not for a good few years) - buy something completely different.

[erics]

I am being told that the A110 electric is 1350kg, which is a no-no for me. I do not want an Alpine that drives like a Cayman. I also understand that said car has a very limited range well below 200 miles.

I come mainly from the world of Porsches, the latest being a 992 gts. I was so disappointed. Wanted to love the car and just could not. Most modern cars are Nurburgring enhanced (part of the Marketing strategy) which makes them horrible on UK roads. Another point that is VERY annoying with modern Porsches is the tyre noise at cruising speed which is deafening.

Point being? I don't know where to go after the Alpine.

I hoped that they had followed through and given us a production version of the Sport X, offroad ish version they showed in 2020..... Alpine, hope you are reading this!

[xondat]

erics said:

I come mainly from the world of Porsches, the latest being a 992 gts. I was so disappointed. Wanted to love the car and just could not. Most modern cars are Nurburgring enhanced (part of the Marketing strategy) which makes them horrible on UK roads. Another point that is VERY annoying with modern Porsches is the tyre noise at cruising speed which is deafening.

Point being? I don't know where to go after the Alpine.

I'm in the same position. Have an A110 S, decided to move on to a 991.2 Carrera T thinking it'd be all I ever wanted. Just never clicked with it, it's amazing in most ways but doesn't capture my heart. Bit too quick in the UK, and road noise is LOUD. Feels pretty heavy after driving back to back with the A110.

I'm pretty sure I'll get a '23 Pure, but still stuck. Values of 991.2s are dropped now, so can't justify changing back!

[Crazy4557]

I'm going the opposite way from McLaren 600LT Spider to a 110 Pure. 3.5 years of absolute bliss and an amzing car but I really want to be able to drive my cars rather than be a pilot. Silly speeds at a blink of the eye are great and the noise and theatre are something else but they don't come alive until 100mph and that's too dangerous on the roads in the South, they're just too busy these days.

[Sporky]

I have no idea what next. Anything much bigger won't fit in the garage, and nothing else has the same appeal for me. Almost sensibly priced, lovely to drive, unusual, and serviceable by the garage round the corner.

[Whaleblue]

Why does anyone need a “next” anyway?

[a110au]

erics said:

I am being told that the A110 electric is 1350kg, which is a no-no for me!

if they do that it will be impressive and yet still disappointing.

Probably the lightest full EV is the BMW i3 with a carbon chassis. The last iteration has 40kw of battery but only 150 miles on a good day. It was 1250kg. Every other EV is heavier and everyone complains about range for all of them.

[Whaleblue]

I’m surprised that the A110 E-ternité manages 0-62mph in the same time as a base ICE A110. It’s down on horses and torques (not by much, but it’s down on both counts), and it weighs 258kg more. Hmm.

[essexstu]

I've been lucky enough to have some nice previous cars including 997S, Camaro V8, M2 Competition and although all good cars in their own way, nothing is like the Alpine. I love it. Intend keeping it a very long time.

[a110au]

Whaleblue said:

I’m surprised that the A110 E-ternité manages 0-62mph in the same time as a base ICE A110. It’s down on horses and torques (not by much, but it’s down on both counts), and it weighs 258kg more. Hmm.

Yeah well it has the instant torque advantage. It is a little slower over standing 1000m.
the battery arrangement is not skateboard design but two vertically oriented lumps. I wonder if this higher center gravity will be noticed.
Also I think from the skeleton pictures the frunk is gone in the e version, or nearly gone. Half the battery lives there. The other battery lives at the back and with the gearbox and motors, so the trunk cannot be any bigger.

|https://thumbsnap.com/zKfAZddi[/url]

Edited by a110au on Friday 31st March 04:02

[Simon Owen]

aea730 said:

I know it's a strange approach to car buying but im just wondering whether anyone else has looked to the time they decide to move the Alpine on. I won't say it concerns me but given the very niche nature of these cars I just wonder where you would go car choice wise after having one and also how easy it might be to dispose of the car. If you buy into the brand are you likely to be stuck in it, ie is that the only way to get a realistic value back for the car. Used prices seem strong but aside from a couple of cars these are all with main dealers.

I tend to keep my cars a couple of years but ive generally been in the mainstream products at £30k ish so moving around the market hasn't been difficult. Im guessing past owners have probably moved off the forum but Im interested to hear any thoughts on potential end of ownership scenarios.

If you ‘move on’ every two years I wouldn’t let that stop you, just don’t buy new and you will do pretty well I would say.

In terms of alternatives I find this really easy depending on the attributes you want from the car, broadly speaking I look at fun from being lightweight and small vs practicality on a sliding scale. I know it’s not completely apples with apples and you could easily argue that a GT3 is as much fun as a Caterham but you know what mean.

Caterham - Elise/Exige - A110 - Boxter/Cayman - 911 acknowledging that this is not a definitive list

The Caterham is the most fun I have had on the road by a country mile but it is the least practical, for us the A110 sits squarely in the middle of the scale & is a great place to be as it increases choice.

[aea730]

Simon Owen said:

If you ‘move on’ every two years I wouldn’t let that stop you, just don’t buy new and you will do pretty well I would say.

In terms of alternatives I find this really easy depending on the attributes you want from the car, broadly speaking I look at fun from being lightweight and small vs practicality on a sliding scale. I know it’s not completely apples with apples and you could easily argue that a GT3 is as much fun as a Caterham but you know what mean.

Caterham - Elise/Exige - A110 - Boxter/Cayman - 911 acknowledging that this is not a definitive list

The Caterham is the most fun I have had on the road by a country mile but it is the least practical, for us the A110 sits squarely in the middle of the scale & is a great place to be as it increases choice.

Yes, thanks for that. I’m having a test drive tomorrow so hopefully that should inform me one way or the other. Cost wise the car I’m looking at is new at £58k. I’ve looked at used cars available at the moment and there isn’t really a lot out there in the spec I want.
My concerns mainly were around the time it comes to move on and what sort of a response you may get going to another brand and whether the alpine would be a difficult car to dispose of or achieve a fair price for at sale time.

[Simon Owen]

aea730 said:

Simon Owen said:

If you ‘move on’ every two years I wouldn’t let that stop you, just don’t buy new and you will do pretty well I would say.

In terms of alternatives I find this really easy depending on the attributes you want from the car, broadly speaking I look at fun from being lightweight and small vs practicality on a sliding scale. I know it’s not completely apples with apples and you could easily argue that a GT3 is as much fun as a Caterham but you know what mean.

Caterham - Elise/Exige - A110 - Boxter/Cayman - 911 acknowledging that this is not a definitive list

The Caterham is the most fun I have had on the road by a country mile but it is the least practical, for us the A110 sits squarely in the middle of the scale & is a great place to be as it increases choice.

Yes, thanks for that. I’m having a test drive tomorrow so hopefully that should inform me one way or the other. Cost wise the car I’m looking at is new at £58k. I’ve looked at used cars available at the moment and there isn’t really a lot out there in the spec I want.
My concerns mainly were around the time it comes to move on and what sort of a response you may get going to another brand and whether the alpine would be a difficult car to dispose of or achieve a fair price for at sale time.

I don’t think moving on will be an issue, you will just be at the thick end of the depreciation curve on the timescales you describe. That will be the same with virtually all cars and possibly better than some with Alpine.

[biggles330d]

a110au said:

erics said:

I am being told that the A110 electric is 1350kg, which is a no-no for me!

if they do that it will be impressive and yet still disappointing.

Probably the lightest full EV is the BMW i3 with a carbon chassis. The last iteration has 40kw of battery but only 150 miles on a good day. It was 1250kg. Every other EV is heavier and everyone complains about range for all of them.

As the owner of an A110 and last iteration i3s, (and late model Discovery 4) I'm really stumped where I would go after any of them. Range on the i3s is 150 miles on a bad day in my experience, and on nice warm sunny days often upward of 170-180 miles. In all the time I've owned it, it is the every day 'go to' car and range has not once been an issue. In fairness, I live in Scotland so my 'long trips' are usually a 3-400+ miles motorway slog each way and for that the Disco is far more suited unless its a day out in the twisty's in which case banging on several hundred miles a day in the Alp is a total joy.

I have to admit, I've got a satisfying sense of being at peak car and can't see me selling any of them.