The end may be in sight for petrol-powered A110s, but nobody could accuse Alpine of not giving its joyous little sports car a proper send-off. The revised standard car is better than ever, the A110 R is a mid-engined masterpiece, and now we have this: the A110 Pikes Peak. Or, to be specific, the maddest rear spoiler you ever did see, with an A110 Pikes Peak attached.
Even prepped to compete at an event famed for its outrageous cars - see the Time Attack Bentley GT3 and Loeb’s 208 T16, for example - the Alpine is dramatic. The preview sketch certainly wasn’t misleading, the Le Mans-style fin seemingly borrowed direct from a much larger circuit racer and wedged onto an A110’s engine cover. The influence doesn’t stop there, either, with the rear lights now moved from the traditional clusters to either side and in between that incredible aero structure. The thin sliver of LED style is repeated at the front. Anything going up the 12.42-mile race to the clouds will look good - this A110 promises to be extra special.
Additional details will be forthcoming ahead of June, but Alpine has let on just enough to whet the appetite for now. Specifically, that’s a 950kg weight and engine tweaks ‘resulting in nearly 500hp’. With the spectacular aero additions as well - note the enormous front chin strap spoiler once you’re drawn away from the back - this should be one of the very fastest cars at Pikes Peak. Alpine says the A110 ‘has been converted into a formidable racing machine’ for its Time Attack 1 classification, which looks eminently believable.
The car will be driven at the 156-turn hill climb in Colorado by Raphael Astier, the 2022 FIA R-GT Cup with an A110 Rally; his prep is already underway in France, with more testing runs to follow as Alpine targets records in the USA. Certainly, it’s a car that looks like it’ll need a bit of practice to get used to, let alone extract the best from.
Francois Letort, the man with the enviable job title of Alpine A110 Pikes Peak Project Manager, added of the car: “The Alpine A110 Pikes Peak pushes the boundaries of our imagination, far beyond anything we could have envisioned in the early stages of the project… The first two testing days went really smoothly. The Alpine A110 Pikes Peak met all its initial targets, which is a remarkable feat in such a short time. We are thus proud to unveil a spectacular model, both visually and in terms of its performance. All of us look forward to the legendary challenge that awaits us!"
You and us both, Francois. Expect more news as the 101st Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, taking place on June 25th, draws closer.
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