sportscar

Geneva 2017: Alpine A110

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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..

Underdog: Cadillac ATS-V

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US carmaker Cadillac is already struggling for years to gain foothold in Europe and battle German domination in the premium D, E, and F-segments. And while their underperformance was somewhat understandable five years ago, with every new model Cadillac seems to get closer to the competition. A personal favorite of mine is the Cadillac ATS-V, and therefore it seems right to spend some time talking about it. Because it certainly deserves more than it’s getting on the continent.

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Cadillac positions the ATS-V as a competitor for the BMW M4, Audi RS4 (yet to be announced) and Mercedes C63 AMG. Therefore, its a premium d-segment car. The CTS(-V) operates a level higher, and the brand new CT6 is top of the line. The Americans certainly invested time and money to make their bid as good as possible; with an attractive and aggressive exterior (which I personally think is a job well done), modern interior, and sophisticated mechanics.

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Engine wise, there is a biturbo V6 sporting 470 hp, which hurls the ATS from 0 to 100 in 3.9 seconds. It only stops accelerating at 304 kph. This is on par or better than the competiton. Cadillac really tried to appeal to European buyers, who prefer sophisticated and smooth engines over naturally aspirated V8s with enormous displacement. Where it still lags behind a bit, is the gearbox. The 8 speed automatic isn’t as refined and quick as the one in the BMW M4, its most important nemesis. But it compensates with very good handling, caused by direct and engaging steering and a well balanced chassis and suspension. Magnetic Ride Control is Cadillacs term for adaptive dampers, and it works great. It causes the American to keep up with the BMW, a very important feat. Where that never was the case with ‘old’ Cadillac due to sluggishness, rolling over, and unresponsive steering the Bavarian now encountered an equal.

When it comes to interior quality, the ATS-V is adequate, but not great. All modern systems are there, but it still doesnt ooze the same quality as its German counterparts. Things are better than previous years, though.

The biggest challenge for the ATS-V is not to win from its rivals in terms of performance; it already did. But the price tag is simply too steep. In the Netherlands, the car is available from 127 grand. That is more than the BMW; which means most European customers will most likely go for the M4. If GM is serious about their luxury brand selling decent numbers over here, it would be better to position the different models slightly below the competition. When an ATS-V suddenly costs 90 grand, there is a real chance BMW, Audi, and Mercedes customers want to save 10 or 20 thousand and go for the alternative option. For now, the ATS-V is only interesting for the used market, since it depreciates quickly and makes for a nice deal in a few years. A sad, and undeserved, truth.

 

 

Special attention for the BMW i8

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A few years back, BMW made a very impressive entree in the field of electric vehicles with the i3 and i8 cars. Where the i3 was the more serious car, available as a pure EV and as EV with range extender (a petrol powerplant to generate power for the batteries) the i8 had to catch attention and make sure everyone was conviced BMW was serious about its new electric line-up (the i-series).

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But it would really not be fair to reduce the i8 to the role of driving billboard. Because the i8 was and is an amazing car in its own right. It showed a conservative German carmaker still possessed the knowledge, will, and capability to create something truly revolutionary. And revolutionary, it was. Its amazing futuristic design with the ‘Lamborghini’-doors and the way wind is guided over (and through) the car is breathtaking.

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And thats not where innovation stops. The interior is created from very new and unprecedented materials like special fabrics and renewable plastics. Instruments are fully digital and adaptive, years before Audi and Volkswagen introduced these into their mass production cars. And the engine also is a very special, of course. Its not a full EV like the i3, but basically a very innovative hybrid. It can drive 30 kms on electric power only, and then switches to a hybrid configuration. The petrol powerplant is a 3 cylinder turbocharged variant, sporting more than 200 horsepower. Using performance parts and clever sound engineering (both mechanical and speaker-wise) it sounds ánd performs like one of BMWs famous inline-sixes. But at an MPG-rate which would never be possible with a regular six cylinder engine. When power / sport mode is selected, the full potential of the hybrid drivetrain is released, causing true sportscar-like acceleration (4.4 seconds 0-100) and the instrument cluster changes to an orange theme.

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It’s a wish of the editor (in chief) of AutoExperience to once drive the i8 and experience it in real life. If you’re reading this and actually have the budget to acquire one; I’d advise in favor of it (starts around 130k). It’s an amazing car which will not look outdated or aging for years to come, and deserves its own special place between other sports and high performance cars.

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…and yes, there is a Spyder on its way too!