Another update from the Geneva 2017 motorshow: the reincarnation of the Alpine-brand! Not to be confused with Alpina, the BMW-tuner specialized in modest improvements of well known Bimmers as the 3- and 5 series, Alpine was a small French sportscar brand which stopped production in 1995. It’s wholly owned by Renault, and that company decided it was about time we had a small affordable sportscar once again. And we couldn’t agree more.

Because right now, that particular segment of the car market does not really exist. Sure, we have the Mazda MX-5 (Miata), the Audi TT, and the Subaru BRZ. But those cars only go certain lengths to prove their sportiness. When you want something more hardcore, your only option is the Alfa Romeo 4C, a car that still costs around 60 grand (Euros) and is hard to buy due to limited production. The new Alpine, called A110, will battle to bring a sportier experience to more drivers, effectively lowering the bar to drive something really nice, which is a great idea.

So how does the ‘new’ Alpine change from the ‘old’? As far as we know from Geneva, not that much. The car will be built in the original Alpine factory in Dieppe, and sticks to its roots when it comes to important traits like total weight, driving experience, and price point. Design wise, it maintains its characteristic headlights and the quirky rear window, which makes it easy recognizable. Unfortunately, we don’t have adequate interior pictures as of now.

The A110 is powered by a newly developed 1.8 litre 4-cylinder turbocharged petrol plant, sporting 250hp and 320 Nm of torque. Due to its low weight at 1080 kg, acceleration from 0-100 kph is only 4.5 seconds, with a top speed of 250kph. These numbers resemble those of competitor Alfa 4C, which also sports a 1.8 litre turbocharged engine (officially named 1.75 TBi – TurboBenzina) and has similar acceleration.

Production will start later this year for a select group of countries (France as well). The first run will only exist of 1955 units, all in the Premiere Edition with extras as the blue paint job, 18 inch alloys, carbon accents in the interior, and a numbered plaque. There is a fixed price of €58.500 in France. We hope prices will drop to around 50k for mass production at a later point.

Of course, we from AutoExperience would love to visit Dieppe and drive with the A110 ourselves when the opportunity arises..