Yesterday

Paris show sculpture previews new Alpine A110

So much bigger and better is the new EV, Alpine is evoking Concorde...

---

Nothing says the French are committed to a project like a preview sculpture. Or ‘artistic vision’, as they prefer. As with all art, the Alpine A110 Sculpture is subject to interpretation. To some it might seem a big odd to have the static installation unveiled after the prototype has run up the Goodwood hill. But that did not represent the car’s final styling, and nor was it destined to feature at the Paris motor show, which is where French manufacturers, understandably enough, love to be the centre of attention. 

Why would you want to see a plain old car in Paris when you could see a ‘sculptural expression of art in motion, of energy captured in an instant, designed so that, at a single glance, it evokes the same emotions that guided Alpine's designers in its creation’? Exactly.

This is a proper preview, though, not merely an excuse to remind everyone how great the French were in helping to make the British-designed, Rolls-Royce-powered Concorde (another stated influence). So the front end is what will come to real life, with a V-shaped visage and ‘dual light signature’ that bring to mind both the outgoing car and the original A110. The engineering might be very different to what’s come before from Alpine sports cars, but the appearance will be recognisable. Or clearly related, at least. 

The height of the wheel in relation to the overall height promises some drama as well. And while these things are always hard to judge, the A110 Sculpture doesn’t look enormous either, which has to be good news. An A110 that isn’t dainty really wouldn’t be right.

Alpine does suggest that the veil used here ‘suggests lightness and aerodynamics’, so there has to be hope that the promises of a properly lightweight EV sports car will be adhered to. ‘Form follows function’ if of course mentioned in addition. This is going to be an Alpine first and an EV second (as if there was any other way to do it), complete with the Alpine Performance Platform, a bespoke solution that eschews the normal skateboard configuration so occupants can sit closer to the ground. 

After the debut of this ‘contemporary, essential and curvaceous interpretation’, we surely won’t be very far off seeing the real thing. 2027 looks like being the year for electric sports cars, with both the A110 and Porsche 718 EV set to be seen for the first time. What quiet days on PH they’ll be. And if a sculpture of an upcoming electric car is all a bit too futuristic, take solace in the fact that there are 30 combustion A110s in the classifieds - Beige Cornaline looks good… 

---

• Electric 718 ditches disguise ahead of reveal
• Alpine unveils new A110 ‘Future’ ahead of FOS

[georgeyboy12345]

They are going to ruin it, aren’t they?

[Taz73]

georgeyboy12345 said:

They are going to ruin it, aren t they?

Heres hoping not, aesthetically I’d say not, looks great to me, so far.

[_Rodders_]

Considering it was an automatic with a mundane engine to start with it's not like they're replacing a singing 6 cylinder and rifle bolt manual.

Will be interesting to see what they come up with.

[Mark-C]

georgeyboy12345 said:

They are going to ruin it, aren t they?

Renault are on a roll design wise so I'm sure it will look the part.

It will undoubtedly be bigger which is a shame and then it's just down to whether an EV is what people want in this sector. PH will have a view and this thread will probably end up just like the Boxster\Cayman replacement thread.

[whp1983]

I feel for (as much as you can for a multinational firm!) can’t just give up, have to follow regs, make something people dont necessarily want. It’ll be heavier, costlier- tough one.

Alpine is an interesting one as it’s not as if the engine was ever the focus point or indeed an engine you lust after…..and yet…. Still want that more than no sound at all in a sports car

I just can’t see these gaining traction until such time as we’re deep deep into EV only territory (2040 onwards).

I have two EVs in the fleet- both lovely in different ways- but not evocative nor chosen for any reason other than tax.

Let’s hope this is good looking, drives well and they can create some want…. Not holding breath for last point

[PCaluta]

georgeyboy12345 said:

They are going to ruin it, aren t they?

I doubt it.

Alpine sold 28,701 A110s in total over nine years, mostly in France, then in Germany with the UK in third place. The French "Malus Écologique" (Environmental Penalty Tax) is one of the primary reasons Alpine is making this new A110 with an all-electric powertrain; they really didn't have a choice when trying to buy any new ICE'd car there is not a good idea now.

If the old A110 was built and sold today as a new car in France, even the base, lowest CO₂ output version would attract €4,818 in tax, with the S/GT models adding €7,248 (or between an extra 7.2-9.1%) to the purchase price - keep in mind there's only 6 g/km difference in CO₂ output between them. For context, buying any new petrol 911 in France now instantly adds an additional €80,000 to the sticker price...

People on here can whine as much as they like but they weren't buying them as the UK didn't even manage to sell more than about 1860 units over the entire nine-year run. No-one in the market is going to be bothered (other than a few motorist beards). It's not like the engine was aurally note-worthy anyway.

[Terminator X]

Alpine are dead to me although I appreciate stty EU Regs are the main culprit

TX.

Edit - as for the poster above "buying any new petrol 911 in France now instantly adds an additional €80,000 to the sticker price" isn't that a real shame though as I assume not one single car like that is ever sold in France and/or numbers are so small it may as well be zero.

Edited by Terminator X on Monday 28th September 12:36

[bobo79]

said:

Nope, it’s French regs - plus the fact that no one outside France bought the last one.

That’s why we will never see an ICE version of this, too - despite the hints.

[otolith]

Heavy dependence on a domestic market where this will be the only sane choice if you want a sports car above MX-5 level.

[Clad-Hach]

I wonder if it will be more hideous that the last one...and that one was pretty hideous, I've a feeling this could be true as they have it covered up.

[leglessAlex]

Not much to learn from this teaser, but I'm still really looking forward to having an EV A110 alongside the ICE one I have. I think this new crop of EV sports cars is going to indicate whether or not it's possible to make a really fun EV that doesn't just rely on speed and power.

Variety is the spice of life and all that

[otolith]

leglessAlex said:

Not much to learn from this teaser, but I'm still really looking forward to having an EV A110 alongside the ICE one I have. I think this new crop of EV sports cars is going to indicate whether or not it's possible to make a really fun EV that doesn't just rely on speed and power.

Variety is the spice of life and all that

I think it's going to be interesting, and I think they will be good cars, but I will be surprised if they get it exactly right first time.

[mjspencer348]

In the face of strict domestic emissions legislation, the easiest thing for Alpine would have been to throw in the towel on sports cars, but they've chosen not to and for that they should be applauded. Should the A110 EV bomb dynamically (unlikely), or not attract a sufficient number of customers (more likely), at least they had 'les couilles' to give it a go. Chapeau Alpine.

Edited by mjspencer348 on Monday 28th September 14:47

[GPH]

otolith said:

I think it's going to be interesting, and I think they will be good cars, but I will be surprised if they get it exactly right first time.

I won't be surprised if the people at Renault Sport/Alpine get it right first time as they have an amazing track record of the last 30 years since the Clio Williams.
Plus they started with a car that weighs about 300kg less than the equivalent petrol Cayman hence them saying they expect the EV A110 to be in the ballpark weight of a petrol Cayman at 1450kg which is encouraging.
Meaning battery, suspension, brakes, wheels don't have to be supersized to keep up with ballooning weight.

The dragging out of the reveal is becoming boring. I expected the real thing at the Paris Salon not a sculpture!

Edited by GPH on Monday 28th September 15:03

[otolith]

GPH said:

I won't be surprised if the people at Renault Sport/Alpine get it right first time as they have an amazing track record of the last 30 years since the Clio Williams.

I think the EV sportscar is unlikely to be nailed by anyone at their first attempt. I think Porsche and Alpine will produce credible first goes, though, and the breed will evolve.

[PCaluta]

Terminator X said:

Alpine are dead to me although I appreciate stty EU Regs are the main culprit

TX.

Edit - as for the poster above "buying any new petrol 911 in France now instantly adds an additional 80,000 to the sticker price" isn't that a real shame though as I assume not one single car like that is ever sold in France and/or numbers are so small it may as well be zero.

Edited by Terminator X on Monday 28th September 12:36

The Malus Écologique was introduced in 2008 with the highest cap set at €2600. Prior to 2020, it was around €10k. From there, it went up to €20k in 2021, €30k in 2022 and €40k in 2023. With the removal of the "50% Fair cap" in 2024, it was raised again to €60k which leads up to 2026 where the ceiling was pushed to between €80,000 to €87,000 for any vehicle emitting over 192g/km CO₂ meaning even cars like Toyota's GR Yaris (which emits around 197 g/km), clears this threshold and gets hit with the exact same maximum tax penalty as a supercar - the government has essentially turned the purchase of standard petrol sports cars into an elite luxury exclusive only to the multi-millionaire class.

While historical annual sales for 911 in France sat around 1,000 to 1,500 units prior to the steepest penalty spikes, annual sales have plummeted to around 300 units following the introduction of the stricter tiered Malus framework.

Although BEVs pay €0 under Malus Écologique, a new battleground in French fiscal policy is the Malus au Poids as France also applies a weight penalty on new passenger vehicles. Standard petrol/diesel cars face a strict threshold starting at 1500kgs, with a steep escalating tax for every extra kg. BEVs get a 600 kg allowance cushion which pushes their functional weight threshold up to 2,100 kgs but to qualify for this exemption, they have to meet a minimum score environnemental which evaluates the carbon footprint of the vehicle's entire life cycle including where the battery was manufactured and how the car was shipped. Heavy, luxury electric SUVs manufactured outside of Europe (ie most Chinese BEVs) fail this eco-score. If a BEV fails the eco-score and exceeds the 1,500 kg limit, it loses its protective 600 kg cushion and can face severe weight penalties.

[bcr5784]

With Malus calculations as they are a plug in hybrid is still viable. If you keep the weight below about 1500kg and emission below about 150 then the Malus is about 4000 euros. In fact the Malus is pretty much identical for the current base A110. Alpine have said they are engineering for possible alternate motive power configurations.

Reduce your emission on the petrol engine to (say) 110, which is entirely feasible then the a plug in hybrid would have a Malus of 110 Euros. That would seem a very attractive route to me. I really can't see me buying a fully electric A110 - but a plug in hybrid looks quite attractive.

[leglessAlex]

otolith said:

GPH said:

I won't be surprised if the people at Renault Sport/Alpine get it right first time as they have an amazing track record of the last 30 years since the Clio Williams.

I think the EV sportscar is unlikely to be nailed by anyone at their first attempt. I think Porsche and Alpine will produce credible first goes, though, and the breed will evolve.

This was my thought, we'll see the potential, I hope.

I don't really want most of the attainable ICE cars sold today anyway, I don't find them particularly interesting. I don't find the outlook to be nearly as depressing as some seem to, electric will be a fun alternative and the second hand ICE cars will be around for a long time yet.

[otolith]

leglessAlex said:

This was my thought, we'll see the potential, I hope.

I don't really want most of the attainable ICE cars sold today anyway, I don't find them particularly interesting. I don't find the outlook to be nearly as depressing as some seem to, electric will be a fun alternative and the second hand ICE cars will be around for a long time yet.

Yep. And I don't find the PHEV route (like the new M5) particularly attractive, seems the worst of both worlds.

[cidered77]

I think it will look great, and be well engineered and light - by EV standards anyway.

And i love the brand - most didn't in the UK, let's be honest, but I bought one new, and enjoyed every moment of it before for many complex reasons it had to be sold.

But - I'm not interested in this at all, and neither will "the market". Not at the kind of volumes that would justify there being another one, anyway.

EV sports car is an oxymoron. Even if the A110's engine wasn't the key part of it's character - it still *had* a character. In this case, a loud blaaarrt noise and a whoosh of induction noise, but - still a noise, and vibrations, and real gear changes. There is zero differentiation between EV powertrains - thrust is thrust is thrust; the only differenence is how much of it there is available.

I willnever look back from EV for a daily driver, but for fun - it's just not the right technology, is it? These selling even at the paltry volumes of its predecessor just isn't going to happen.

Shame, as I understand why they have no choice other than to try.....