Alpine to target 911 with four-seater sports car
Alpine’s ambitions include taking on the Porsche 911 with an all-electric sports car that has room for four.
The French firm is re-inventing itself as an all-electric brand with its take on the upcoming Renault 5, to be known as the A290 and a replacement for its highly-regarded A110 coupe that’s set for launch in 2027. The Alpine Performance Platform will then form the basis of a larger car, according to a report by Autocar.
“We want to do a 2+2 sports car, and of course some time in the past we had the A310, so we will bring together these two ideas as a first intention,” Design director Antony Villain told Autocar.
The original A310 (above), built from 1971-1984, was rear-engined, like the Porsche 911, with later models being available with six cylinders as well. Alpine’s choice was a V6 hung behind the rear axle making the lightweight fibreglass-bodied car rather tail-happy. Nonetheless, when fettled for racing it proved top be a successful rally runner, claiming the 1977 French Rally Championship in the hands of Guy Fréquelin.
Weight-saving and fine handling will be pre-requisites of all future Alpines, despite the challenges of electrification. “If all our future models are going to be electric, they’re going to be true Alpines,’ marketing boss Bruce Pillard told Autocar. “They will have the DNA of agility and lightness. Even if it’s an electric car with a battery inside, you’re going to feel the lightness. That’s very important.”
