RE: Alpine A110 - Geneva 2017

[Prestonese]

I thought the reviews were interesting but I couldn't help but feel they came out a lot more positive than if it was made by an established brand and was burdened by comparisons with others cars they made. That said, reading all the reviews did make the car sound like it's something a step away from the norm.

It must be interesting for journalists to review these types of cars rather than another iteration of a 911 etc etc so it wouldn't surprise me if the novelty helps bring positive reviews. The GT86 is another car which springs to mind but the positive reviews didn't really help sales.

Have many / any of you put a deposit down on one of these by the way?

[CABC]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

quite different though, in some ways. the 86 is half the price. it serves up a chassis and driver involvement, but fails (for many) on engine, interior and badge. It has a simple hot hatch of old feel to it (whereas today's hatches have moved into GT class abilities). clearly not enough for many when the badged hatches serve up so much easy fast driving. The Alpine needs to be a more complete package at 50k though. The signs are promising that it might be. It looks good and has a heritage that owners can explain to friends and family (for their own credibility & status!). Sales numbers rely on people beyond this forum though. Surely everyone on here should celebrate an apparently great execution of the concept? Just that it exists and someone persevered with it.

[bcr5784]

All the road tests are far more positive than those of the 718 and alpine must be overjoyed. I cannot see any of the 4300+ deposits being withdrawn as a result - mine certainly won't be.
On paper and. it seems, in reality it combines the dynamics of a lotus and most of the practicality of Cayman. It is a more appealing proposition than a 718 to me. It will need a test drive to convince me I prefer it to my 981s - but I'm optimistic.
Will it outsell the 718 no, but for many not wedded to brand or blind, it will be an attractive proposition.

[Olivera]

Sounds excellent from the positive reviews so far.

The turbo 4-pot I can cope with, but it really, really should have a manual gearbox. Any word on a manual version in future?

[jl4069]

Really want to know how Renault got the electric steering to be described by evo as having good feel. That's very rare these days. Think it may be a system that turns off above say 30mph. Have not heard that compliment given to the newer Caymans and Boxsters nor the manual steering in the Alfa 4c.

[kambites]

jl4069 said:

Really want to know how Renault got the electric steering to be described by evo as having good feel. That's very rare these days. Think it may be a system that turns off above say 30mph. Have not heard that compliment given to the newer Caymans and Boxsters nor the manual steering in the Alfa 4c.

The Cayman/Boxster's steering is often complemented as being good for an EPAS setup. Whether you view that as a positive or damning with faint praise is arguable I suppose. The Alfa's problem is the factory geometry and overly large wheels and tyres on most of the press cars; on the smaller wheels with a bit of tweeking it's really quite good, albeit not Elise/Caterham good.

I suspect the fact this has so little weight over the front axle will help. The assistance is probably minimal once moving. As you say it's possible it turns of entirely and cluches out the electric motor; the car is about the same weight as an Exige and that has pretty light steering once on the move so it's certainly doable.

I look forward to reading a group test with the Cayman S, Exige, 4C and this.

Edited by kambites on Wednesday 6th December 17:57

[GPH]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Actually the British media only flew out today which is why there is no feature on Pistonheads yet. These two articles were by different journalists hence one was 4 stars and one 5 stars, likely European journalists (though EVO might have been a UK journo prototype drive under embargo) Top Gear probably used a Euro journo too. Will be interesting to see if the Brits agree with their very positive reviews in the next couple of days

Edited by GPH on Wednesday 6th December 20:12

[billzeebub]

If only it was 6 cylinder NA & manual gearbox. Not a patch on the gorgeous original, but then not much is. The world will definitely be a better place for having this car in it. Catching a glimpse of one of these amongst a sea of dull Audi Qs etc will always bring a smile to the face.

[bcr5784]

kambites said:

The Cayman/Boxster's steering is often complemented as being good for an EPAS setup. Whether you view that as a positive or damning with faint praise is arguable I suppose. The Alfa's problem is the factory geometry and overly large wheels and tyres on most of the press cars; on the smaller wheels with a bit of tweeking it's really quite good, albeit not Elise/Caterham good.

I suspect the fact this has so little weight over the front axle will help. The assistance is probably minimal once moving. As you say it's possible it turns of entirely and cluches out the electric motor; the car is about the same weight as an Exige and that has pretty light steering once on the move so it's certainly doable.

I look forward to reading a group test with the Cayman S, Exige, 4C and this.

Edited by kambites on Wednesday 6th December 17:57

According to the manual the steering weight varies with the drive mode and is user configurable.} Great!!

[jl4069]

kambites said:

The Cayman/Boxster's steering is often complemented as being good for an EPAS setup. Whether you view that as a positive or damning with faint praise is arguable I suppose. The Alfa's problem is the factory geometry and overly large wheels and tyres on most of the press cars; on the smaller wheels with a bit of tweeking it's really quite good, albeit not Elise/Caterham good.

I suspect the fact this has so little weight over the front axle will help. The assistance is probably minimal once moving. As you say it's possible it turns of entirely and cluches out the electric motor; the car is about the same weight as an Exige and that has pretty light steering once on the move so it's certainly doable.

I look forward to reading a group test with the Cayman S, Exige, 4C and this.

Edited by kambites on Wednesday 6th December 17:57

I think this system that Renault is using and the way it is being used indicate a rather different and inherently more feel-some experience. Lets remember on launch and even for some years after the electric systems in the 981 cayman and 982 boxster were hit hard with criticism- even leading evo and Harris to both claim these could be dangerous in certain conditions. Although I am not positive, it seems to be (evo had their finest road tester, J Barker as author of this piece from this week at first before changing to "staff") a lot for evo to say:

"The steering is light, delicate and accurate, but delivers genuine feel through the rim, in all of its modes. You place the A110 to the nearest millimetre through most bends and have total faith in the front end.."

I have certainly not heard anything this positive about the Cayman Boxster duo, nor for that matter the GT86. This Alpine really could be a hallmark car, maybe the last habitable and modern petrol car to hearken back to cars like the BMW M3 e30, Porsche 993/996/997 and 944/968. j

[Simon Owen]

kambites said:

I look forward to reading a group test with the Cayman S, Exige, 4C and this.

Edited by kambites on Wednesday 6th December 17:57

The interesting bit for me is that that the Alpine appears to sit nicely between the Cayman and the Exige in terms of packaging and physical attributes.

i.e. if you want something smaller and lighter than a Porsche but don't want to suffer the compromises of the more lightweight and extreme offerings from say Lotus - Exige S etc. The BBR ND MX5, great for what it is BUT it clearly lacks the focus of the Porsche & Lotus offerings. It sounds like Alpine may have a product that adds some real driver focus to something of a very similar size and weigh to the ND Mazda which can only be a good thing, and a real gap in the market IMHO. Appreciate there is the small matter of £50k to overcome though !!

[Trikster]

Well my deposit will be remaining - sounds like a really interesting car - was impressed with the static car at Geneva, and if the drive is as good as they say will be my new DD.

The pricing is going to be interesting - some articles stating that the £50k plus price is for the Premier Addition (optional light weight seats, sports exhaust, stereo upgrade etc etc) and the base price may be £40-45k, still not chump change but a bit more palatable....

[jl4069]

I wonder how close to the latest 911 mid-rear engine placement this Alpine gets? Is the alpine closer to a 911 than a Cayman? Evo's Barker made some rather interesting points about mid-engine vs rear-mid engine placement for road use... http://www.evo.co.uk/features/9997/cayman-s-911-ki...

[GPH]

Very much mid-engined I think as it has a separate 95 litre boot compartment at the rear. (and 100 litres in the front.)
Best picture I've seen so far from the test drives. Looks lovely. Shame it doesn't have air intakes on the side to emphasise that it is mid-engined not front.

Edited by GPH on Thursday 7th December 01:03

[bcr5784]

The only thing that might stop me from completing my order that I have read is the word "lag". Given that engine is less heavily boosted than the 718, and the torque curve below 2000rpm much flatter, I expected less lag with similar techniques. If it is as bad as the 718 that would probably be a killer for me.

[bcr5784]

Lag is my only concern. With less boost and a much flatter torque curve below 2000rpm than the 718 I hoped and expected less obvious lag. If it's as bad as the 718 that would probably be a killer for me.

[Too Drunk to Funk]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Hardly comparable. The GT86 suffered from poor performance given how it looked and how much it cost.

[Prestonese]

Too Drunk to Funk said:

Hardly comparable. The GT86 suffered from poor performance given how it looked and how much it cost.

To be fair I think cmoose was saying the same thing. His point was also about the positive reviews not necessarily leading to sales given both cars are a mixed bag (rather them actually sharing the same characteristics).

It would be a shame though if the Alpine turns out to be a great car but goes the same way as the GT86 in terms of general public acceptance and sales to ensure the longevity of the brand/concept.

[Too Drunk to Funk]

Prestonese said:

Too Drunk to Funk said:

Hardly comparable. The GT86 suffered from poor performance given how it looked and how much it cost.

To be fair I think cmoose was saying the same thing. His point was also about the positive reviews not necessarily leading to sales given both cars are a mixed bag (rather them actually sharing the same characteristics).

It would be a shame though if the Alpine turns out to be a great car but goes the same way as the GT86 in terms of general public acceptance and sales to ensure the longevity of the brand/concept.

Then we have the Alfa 4C. Looks great but I've seen one on the road. Not particularly well reviewed.

[M1C]

GPH said:

Very much mid-engined I think as it has a separate 95 litre boot compartment at the rear. (and 100 litres in the front.)
Best picture I've seen so far from the test drives. Looks lovely. Shame it doesn't have air intakes on the side to emphasise that it is mid-engined not front.

Edited by GPH on Thursday 7th December 01:03

It is nice isn't it. The front in particular seems to reference the original quite strongly.

Ref air intakes - aren't they what the dark areas are next to/inside the C pillars? Granted they are not as noticable as they would have been in lower on the body.