I guess it was around the late 90s as I was driving around in my 1988 grey GTA Atmo that rumours started circulating about the launch the following year of a new Alpine. Artists’ impressions and scooped photos appeared in Autocar but nothing came of them. So the announcement three years ago, of a new car, produced in cooperation with Caterham was greeted with surprise and scepticism but despite that arrangement ending in divorce, Renault have pressed on and now, here I am, heading to Maple Cross (Renault Group headquarters in North West London) to the launch of a new A110 (and this time, they can call it an Alpine in the UK).
Of course, by this stage I had seen pictures in the press, read the reports and watched the online videos so I already knew a lot about the car but I was still looking forward immensely to seeing it in the metal for the first time. I arrived at Maple Cross about 6:30pm, half an hour early. I was amused as I arrived to see the guard on the entrance ticking me off a list that I had emailed to Jeremy Townsend (the Communications Director for Renault UK) a couple of days before. As I pulled into the car park I was greeted with the wonderful sight of about 30 Alpines, all lined up with about 50 people mingling with the Renault representatives in the car park, waiting to go in. I was particularly pleased to see Tim Moores and Alec Davis – both with their A110s, who I have known for years but not seen for ages. The new car was inside along with a very nice buffet laid on by Renault UK but I stayed outside for a while, photographing the cars and chatting to old friends.
Then it was time to wander inside to view the car. All I can say is all the photos you see really do not do the car justice. In the metal, it is much lower and lithe looking and the whole car is full of subtle styling details that hark back to the previous car but in a modern form. A good example is the lovely door trims with their retro quilting and French flag detailing. The front lights with their LED ‘Mysteron’ circles could have looked contrived but actually they work beautifully, highlighting the styling cues at the front of the car. The one disappointment (for a nerd like me) was there is no opening you can just flip up to reveal a nicely detailed engine – apparently you have to take some spanners to the rear boot to see the engine. Inside, the car is very beautifully finished, again with a plethora of quality fittings and styling cues harking back to the motorsport history of the original car.
Champagne was served and the new car was toasted followed by presentations about the new car, its gestation to date and the plan for delivery going forward. These particularly focused on the desire to make the car light to promote excellent handling over performance and all the details that had gone into achieving this.
There was a promise to offer Club members test drives once the cars start arriving in showrooms but we need to be patient as cars will not be delivered to customers in France until late 2017 and will not arrive in the UK before 2018. In addition, all 1955 launch specification cars have been sold so new orders will be for the next batch. The event then became less formal as the buffet was served and the presenters answered a prolific stream of questions from the enthusiastic potential owners. Discounted regalia was also available which I took full advantage of (I will be at Le Mans in the middle of June).
The price (in the UK) is not clear yet (the post Brexit fall of the £ against the Euro makes this hard to predict) but the plan is for it to be priced midway between a Cayman and a Cayman S with more equipment than the former and a similar power to weight ratio of the latter. Would I buy one? At this stage I am very tempted. A brand new car compared to a 26 year old classic with a constant stream of jobs requiring attention? Modern performance, reliability and comfort in a car that you could use as a daily driver? Makes a lot of sense but I would really like to drive one first. Lastly, I just hope that when deliveries do start, that people use their cars – and don’t just hide them away in temperature controlled garages waiting for their ‘as new’ low mileages to appreciate their values. Cars like these need to be enjoyed.
John Sweet