Inside story: the Alpine-Caterham
Cheaper than a Cayman, more practical than an Elise - PH gets the inside line on the Alpine-Caterham
With various key players in the splendidly-named Societe des Automobiles Alpine-Caterham on hand, it was also a great chance to try and prise some further information from them about the forthcoming Alpine-Caterham sports car. Over the course of the event we talked with the CEO of Alpine-Caterham, Bernard Ollivier; MD of Renaultsport Technology, Patrice Ratti; and the engineer and project leader who’ll be in charge of building it, Jean-Pascal Dauce. Once home, we also talked to Dave Ridley, Chief Commercial Officer at Caterham.
So, what’s it to be? Front-, mid- or, in keeping with Alpine tradition, rear-engined? A new-age Elise? The Anglo-French alternative to a Cayman?
Well, the planning hasn’t even left the drawing board yet. So prototypes and running cars are some way off. And if the decisions have been made, nobody was admitting anything concrete. But after comparing notes from the various conversations we had, we can conclude the Alpine-Caterham – to be sold as two distinct cars under each brand – will, in all likelihood, cost in the region of £30K, weigh around 1,000kg, use a version of the new Clio 200’s 1.6-litre turbo engine with 200hp-plus and be pitched as both purist and usable. We’ll take a punt on mid-engined too, this being a literal halfway house between Caterham’s front-engined roots and Alpine’s rear-engined heritage as well as an obvious way to make use of an off-the-shelf transverse four-cylinder engine shared with other Renaultsport products. Both parties can claim a link with respective motorsport activities here too.
How do we reach this conclusion? Well, Bernard Ollivier was very keen to discuss Alpine’s heritage as a builder of simple, lightweight cars that used off-the-shelf parts from everyday Renaults. “Driving pleasure” was a phrase he kept returning to, agility another recurring theme. “Driving pleasure does not mean big speed,” he warns. “It is not about being able to drive 300km/h on the highway, because you can’t. It is not in our DNA. Our DNA is here, driving in the Alps.” Cost is another important element.
“For me the biggest challenge is the profitability,” says Ollivier, revealing that five previous attempts to revive Alpine foundered on these rocks. “It’s not difficult to make a sports car. It’s quite easy. The difficulty we have is we have to be profitable.” And how do you do that? “It’s a necessity we have to use parts off the shelf,” he says. “It was the DNA of Alpine - in the past you had a very real sports car but we had a very low cost for the owner because of the parts. The solution will be the same.”
Hence our assumption it’ll use the new Clio 200’s 1.6 turbo engine, or something like it. “I think the small turbo engine is the right way to go,” says Ratti. “It saves on CO2 and so does the dual-clutch gearbox.” Yup, you heard. Lotus has always struggled with making the manual shift from its FWD-derived powertrains work smoothly in the Elise and Evora; if the Alpine-Caterham is using a similar configuration, shift-by-wire (as opposed to cable) would save a whole load of faff and expense.
So, probably automated shifting. And a more mainstream approach to passive safetythan Caterham's traditional mindset. ESP will be there but it'll be switchable and there'll be the next evolution of the Renaultsport Monitor (optional on the Megane, coming on the Clio too) so drivers can configure throttle mapping, steering and other parameters to suit. This, says Ratti, helps bring a new sense of fun and involvement for enthusiasts.
So what are they benchmarking it against? Both Ollivier and Ratti offer that it will be hardcore like an Elise but with the daily usability of a Cayman. But cheaper than the latter. If indeed there is a market for such cars, though, why isn’t Lotus selling more? In the case of the Elise, Ollivier cites perceived quality issues; Ratti, the compromises in refinement and practicality.
And what of the GT86/BRZ – the most recent attempt by a mainstream manufacturer to reclaim the driving enthusiast market at a relatively affordable price? None of our interviewees have driven it. Ollivier dismisses it as “more of a GT” with a Gallic shrug, while Ratti tells us the new car “has no real equivalent” in the existing marketplace. Interestingly, neither has had any recent experience of Caterham products either, be that the Seven end of the spectrum or the more extreme SP/300.R.
So what does Caterham’s David Ridley have to contribute to the discussion? Contacted on our return from France he told us “accessible fun” and the “Caterham DNA of lightweight engineering” are the guiding principles from their side. “The philosophy of Caterham won’t change,” he says. “This is an excellent chance for Caterham to showcase its knowledge, experience and engineering excellence in developing a formidable new sports car.”
And how will the two cars differ? “The two vehicles will incorporate some different elements to their design, reinforcing the individual DNA of Caterham and Renault/Alpine,” he says, while underlining the fact this is “a joint venture with shared ambitions, shared risks but above all a realistic, sensitive plan that works for both brands and their markets.”
Which could imply Caterham playing to UK and Asian RHD markets, with Alpine trading on its French heritage for Europe. With 5,000 cars to sell each it’s an ambitious goal and we won’t be seeing the fruits for at least a couple of years yet. What’s clear is that all parties are serious, focused and, as Ridley says, with their feet firmly on the ground.
We await with interest.
Still, we managed to get a fair bit out of them and we've got some good signals too. A bit of Cayman, a bit of Elise and a bit of Alpine A110, with a modern twist, basically.
To be continued...
Dan
I'm impressed that it'll be close to £30k, I worried it'd be £40k+. There does need to be a manual option.
We'll see on the price too. But it was made very clear affordability and profitability through parts sharing was the priority.
Dan
Don't get me wrong; I think it's a fantastic opportunity for Caterham to develop their brand and offering and I welcome it for that reason. But what are Renault getting from this?
I'm impressed that it'll be close to £30k, I worried it'd be £40k+. There does need to be a manual option.
But good luck to them for trying
I'm impressed that it'll be close to £30k, I worried it'd be £40k+. There does need to be a manual option.
We'll see on the price too. But it was made very clear affordability and profitability through parts sharing was the priority.
Dan
Dan,
It seems a very serious project to, not just hype to get the Alpine brand back in peoples minds?
Don't get me wrong; I think it's a fantastic opportunity for Caterham to develop their brand and offering and I welcome it for that reason. But what are Renault getting from this?
Also Caterham are rather good at recycling cheap parts from mass-produced cars into their cars. My Caterham's engine mounts used to be mkII Jaguar bumper mounts!
The Lotus is a PITA to get into and out of and in the case of the Elise, the roof is a PITA.
Once you're in, the drive is great in terms of ride / handling balance but the gearchange is pretty grim and it's a pretty dull place to sit (sublime to drive though).
And in the case of the Toyobaru - it's simply too slow for the money, even wringing its neck, it's not a fast car. And if you want a sportscar (even a cheap-ish one), you probably don't want a Focus ST showing you the way home for £5k less.
If the Alpine-Caterham can address these issues, then it could be a great shout? They'll need to make sure it looks amazing though - nothing sells to a broad audience better than style.
Who doesn't want a 4C (for example)? And the Evoque has sold extremely well based almost exclusively on the way it looks.
Apparantly this will actually reduce the weight even below carbon fibre, is more easily recycled and will also help solve the problems of our graveyards filling up.
Perhaps Renault-Caterham are just ahead of the curve
Like it or lump it, we're going to see more and more DCT only models
Like it or lump it, we're going to see more and more DCT only models
The Aplerham/Caterpine sounds very interesting
Anyway, this is the first new car in ages that has got me excited. At this stage I definitely want this to be my next purchase - especially if they hit pricing targets.
Well done Dan for getting PH well stuck in to this exciting development. Good luck to all and baited breath for the next installment...
220bhp, 1000kg, mid-engined, raw and useable with a £30,000 price tag?
Sounds like the perfect car to me, the kind of car I would finance aslong as it had some exclusivity or a guaranteed PCP deal.
With a decent weight distribution, LSD and drag coefficient it could be 0-60~4secs with a top speed of ~160.
Theoretically if they use the 1.6turbo'd lump it will be easily tunable too
The Aplerham/Caterpine sounds very interesting
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