'A supercar with the weight of an Alpine'
The A110 R Ultime already sounded extraordinary on paper - now we know it's 20 seconds quicker at the 'ring...
It’d be easy to forget the A110 at the moment, given everything else that is going on in the wider Alpine and Renault universe. But hopefully the R Ultime hasn’t strayed too far from your mind, given its billing as the, well, the ultimate version of a truly great sports car. That and the £200k price, of course…
With development ongoing (and perhaps a few units left unallocated), Alpine has released a behind-the-scenes video of what makes an Ultime an Ultime. Suffice it to say if you were keen on the idea beforehand then this video will only ramp up the excitement further; whether it’s the talk of forged pistons and motorsport conrods to get 350hp or watching an A110 skid around like they never have before thanks to an LSD, there’s no doubting this is a very serious project.
Laurent Hurgon is involved as test driver, too, making sure all the new parts - Ohlins dampers, AP Racing brakes, wider Michelin tyres, a heap more downforce - complement the package as intended. You might recall his name from previous Renault record attempts, as he was the man hurling Trophy-Rs around the ‘ring back when front-wheel drive records were all the rage. Now an Ultime (presumably with him at the wheel) has lapped the track 20 seconds faster than an A110 R, which is a huge gain with a fairly small power uplift.
The transformation is comparable, in fact, to the 718 Cayman GT4 RS, which was 23.6 seconds faster than a GT4 with another 80hp. So when Alpine CEO Philippe Kreif talks of a “supercar with the weight of an Alpine”, it’s not merely hyperbole. An exact lap time hasn’t been confirmed, though Nordschleife spies have spoken of a sub-7:20 lap for a little while.
The Ultime will be kitted out like a supercar also, albeit in minimalist Alpine fashion. Stephanie Petit, boss of design, colour and trim, mentions a new collaboration with Frau and almost limitless customisation available for the run-out model. The video shows wheel colour change, different carbon bonnet designs, modified spoilers, paints never seen before and truly spectacular interior finishes (wait until the brown seats). Each of the 110 Ultimes will be unique, just like something more ostensibly exotic, and it seems very unlikely that any two will be the same.
About the only thing the video doesn’t divulge is when the A110 R Ultime might reach customers. That being said, given how much detail it goes into and the existence of cars in what looks like a road-ready state, they can't be too far off, especially with the electric A110 set to arrive next year. As if it didn’t have a tough enough task replacing the petrol one already…
Also, it seems a LOT work to get 350ps from a 1.8 4 pot, I have to assume it's more about it being free revving rather than just to hit a power figure.
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