Now that’s an Alpine peak! The 1960s legend is reborn as a modern marvel

Alpine A110 Premiere

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You can’t polish a t***, goes the saying. Well you bloody well can if F1 is anything to go by. And you can roll it in glitter! The new owners of F1, Liberty Media, are doing everything in their power to promote the sport to a new audience except the one thing that would really make a difference: improve the racing itself. Compared to the Formula E race in Switzerland a couple of hours before, last Sunday’s Canadian GP was positively sclerotic.

Noah, my nine-year-old, has a theory (as always). ‘F1 should be more like Monopoly, Dad, a game of skill and chance, but more chance to highlight the skill.’

Christian Horner, the Red Bull team principal, echoed such revolutionary thoughts ‘live from the pit wall’ during the race. ‘More pit stops, for a start!’ he wept.

Driving the A110 in Track mode on a normal road is at least as exciting as driving a Ferrari 488 in Normal mode on a track. It handles and sounds that good

Driving the A110 in Track mode on a normal road is at least as exciting as driving a Ferrari 488 in Normal mode on a track. It handles and sounds that good

Liberty could do a lot worse than take a leaf out of Renault’s book and look to the past for inspiration. Cue the rebirth of the legendary Alpine A110.

Back in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the A110 was a doyenne of its genre, taking the constructor’s title in the 1973 World Rally Championship. Original cars remain much-loved classics to this day. Whenever one comes up for sale at auction, its presence is routinely met with much swooning.

Testament to such adoration is the fact that all 1,995 of this top-of-the-range 2018 tribute/re-creation/continuation have already been sold. Impressive, and here’s why…

I first clapped eyes on ‘the best bum I’ve seen on a car in ages’ at 5am, after its idiosyncratic form had been reversed into my drive under cover of darkness, ready for me to take to work the next day. Full of trepidation, I went to climb in the driver’s door. Oops, first mistake, wrong side – left-hand-drive (right-hand-drive models are on the way). Half an hour later – almost ten minutes earlier than usual – I was in Central London, surveying the rest of the car’s exterior.

Many influences came to mind as I studied its various curves, bulges, lines and dimensions: Marcos, TVR, Frogeye Sprite, Porsche, Audi TT, MR2 and Celica. All icons, all highly respected and revered.

Modern mid-range sports coupés are all about feel and fun while not losing your driving licence and herniating every disc in your vertebrae in the process. Cars such as this, therefore, are the plausible reality to the increasing insanity of stupidly overpowered Ferraris, Lambos, Bugattis, etc. When speed limits haven’t changed in decades, it beats me why car-makers continue to produce ever more insane rocket ships that most people will never experience beyond second gear.

Here, then, is our saviour. Once ensconced in the Alpine’s sporty but not overly fussy interior, with its Alcantara bucket seats and quilted-leather trim, the driver is greeted with the sports car essentials: red starter button, chunky sports steering wheel, and an economy of switchgear, albeit with a smattering of luxury in the shape of electric windows/wing mirrors, A/C, satnav and sound system. Hunkered down, then, ready for the off, in a nigh-on perfect driving position, fire up the ignition, wait for the snazzy virtual dials to illuminate and it’s time to roll.

TECH SPEC

Price £51,805

Engine 1.8-litre petrol turbo

Gearbox Seven-speed

Power 248hp

0-60mph 4.5 seconds

Top speed 155mph

First year road tax £205

The lightness of the car is instantly palpable, its 96 per cent aluminium body and kerb weight of just 1,103kg ready and waiting to be launched down the road via a lightning-fast, twin-clutch, seven-speed gearbox, stuck on to a relatively modest but extremely efficient and lively 1.8-litre four-cylinder engine. When there’s so little to pull, 248hp and 320Nm of torque is more than enough to have a spankingly good time. At no point in any of the four driving modes do you ever feel either impotent or out of control. As long as the ignition is on, the car feels permanently hooked up and ready for a party.

Driving the A110 in Track mode on a normal road is at least as exciting as driving a Ferrari 488 in Normal mode on a track. It handles and sounds that good. With the added bonus of being circa £150k cheaper.

That growl really is something else. Like an old rally car (surprise, surprise), you can hear every induction noise, every spin of the turbo, every time the waste gate dumps its detritus back into the atmosphere – all on top of the myriad pops and bangs in between gear changes and on deceleration.

Handling? Think go-kart for grown-ups. Another tick in the box from the mid-engined, ultra-low, ultra-light A110 package – the holy trinity of ingredients when it comes to cornering nirvana. Along with its Brembo brakes (which require a good old-fashioned boot from time to time) and a power-assisted steering set-up, it all makes for a thrilling two-seater driving experience. The gears may be short but then the rev-limiter kicks in relatively early, which means the car always sounds like it’s auditioning for a classic 1960s car chase.

Fire up the ignition, wait for the snazzy virtual dials to illuminate and it’s time to roll

Fire up the ignition, wait for the snazzy virtual dials to illuminate and it’s time to roll

I absolutely loved my time in the first Alpine for over 40 years. If I could only buy one sports car in the world today for £50k it would be this one, no question.

With the twins’ due date (September 19) drawing ever nearer, however, Tash and I have been focusing on family seven-seaters instead. ‘How about we go for one Alfa Giulia Quadrifoglio [best sports saloon this century] and one of these babies?’ I suggested. ‘That’s the seven seats we need, plus two amazing cars?’

Silence. Death stare.

And with that, back to the Peugeot 5008 configurator, tempered with memories of my old Lotus Evora.

Tears were shed.

 



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