Last week Autocar wrote of
'creative tensions'
Alpine andCaterham
working on the collaborative mid-engined sports car project. The implication was that the departure of
enthusiastic Renault boss
Carlos Tavares had stalled momentum on the Renault side of the deal, resulting in indecision and conflicts about the final design direction.
Renault: 'Er, we will, 'ow you say, do the styling...'
We asked Renault for the official line and were told "Renault does not comment on rumours about future models. However, we can say that it is standard procedure for Renault to run customer clinics with future products. As a result, sometimes, we make some evolutions to the design. This is a very normal process for new product design."
When I met the senior Renaultsport and Alpine project chiefs, including Tavares and chief engineer Jean-Pascal Dauce it was striking how little awareness of current Caterham products the French side of the partnership had. I'd expected Dauce and his colleagues to know Sevens inside out but instead got Gallic shrugs and recollection that someone at the Renaultsport factory had built a crossflow a few years back. You could speculate from that Caterham might be struggling to have its voice heard in the corporate world of Renault but Dauce's passion and personal automotive tastes suggest the project is in safe hands.
Subaru on the left, hang on, the right, er...
It got me thinking though; can these kind of shared projects ever really succeed? We'll be seeing more of them for sure, whether it's the forthcoming
Mazda/Alfa Romeo tie-up
on the next MX-5/Spider or rumoured collaboration between
BMW and Toyota
on a new range of lightweight sports cars.
Although the GT86/BRZ is officially a joint project and built at Subaru's factory Toyota hasn't had too much difficulty asserting 'ownership' of the car. It's not difficult to find enthusiasm for a cheap (OK, discuss...) rear-wheel drive coupe among the likes of us but it's rather more tricky to tell the Subaru and Toyota versions apart. They do have subtlely different characters but the two are pretty much interchangeable to most eyes. Simply choose the badge that appeals more, or pick the dealer with the most favourable deals, and skid your way to rear-driven nirvana.
Identity can be maintained on related cars
Toyota might have a tougher fight on its hands with BMW when it comes to staking a claim on the project and you'd have to expect a much clearer split along brand lines between the two designs when they do eventually emerge. The Alfa/Mazda partnership is an interesting one too, emotionally engaged fans of both probably rather hoping for clearly defined identity rather than a BRZ/GT86 rebadge.
Can it work? Audi's management of the R8 and Gallardo has skilfully put emotional distance between the two. Though a wander along the Lamborghini production line reveals a lot more components with Audi AG/Made In Germany stamped on them and crates from the Neckarsulm plant that also builds the R8 than Gallardo owners might realise. Or want to acknowledge.
From a purely product point of view (let's leave the business case...) the template for building a sports car with a shared platform but distinct brand image would be the Lotus Elise and Vauxhall VX220. For the forthcoming Alpine you can put Caterham and Renault in the respective roles there, the Elise selling on the racing heritage and traditions of a famous badge while the latter saw a surprisingly hardcore sports car sharing showroom space with everyday superminis and MPVs.
VX220 and Elise show the formula can work
To this day I'd find it hard to choose between the two on purely emotive grounds - I prefer the VX220's styling (and affordability) but would prefer to be seated behind a Lotus badge. That gap will be closer with
Caterham and Alpine
; which means more to you will probably depend on which side of the Channel you reside but you have to hope there's enough of a character difference between the two to inspire similar dilemmas to that offered by the VX220 and Elise in years to come.