Alpine gave a great business card with the A110 and the new A110 R should be even better.
Alpine on position ten
If there was one thing that always stood out in testing the Alpine A110 for this A110 R, it was the sports car’s own course. No chasing pointless lap records, but putting fun on the public road first. And now there’s the Alpine A110 R. And it focuses on … lap times.
I think they forgot to paint this A110 R a bit?
No, those are the carbon parts to make the A110 R even lighter than other Alpine A110s. It is quite eye-catching, but that is also because it is really everywhere. From the front cover to the bonnet and from the roof to the wheels. Saves 34 kilos compared to the already not obese A110 S, so that the R drops below 1,100 kilos. That’s almost enough in this day and age to label the Alpine an eating disorder.
Carbon wheels are lighter, contribute to aerodynamics due to their shape and cost €16,000 per set.
And does the A110 R drive differently as a result?
In short: yes! But that’s also because more happened. Those carbon wheels are fitted with Michelin semislicks and the standard springs have been replaced by a multi-adjustable coilover set. By default, the R is already an inch closer to the asphalt and by turning the coilovers you can take another inch off it. That silly wing on the back also provides a small 30 kilos of extra downforce. The result is an A110 that is much tighter on the road, much faster and more fanatically wants to follow the line and achieves cornering speeds that other A110s cannot match. And that while the comfort is not even that much worse. Good, because it only has a six-point racing harness and fairing shifters, it takes a while to get seated, but otherwise you can drive the Alpine A110 R just fine every day.
If you forget your keys, you have to allow 15 minutes to get out and get back in.
And motor?
Unfortunately, Alpine has changed little about that. The 1.8-liter four-cylinder turbo engine is the same as in the S, with 300 hp and 340 Nm. The seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox also comes over one to one and there is still no limited slip differential. You hear the engine a bit more due to less insulation, but unfortunately the A110 R again fails to impress in this area.
Nothing changes on the engine, but the hood is now made of carbon. As a result, you no longer have an interior mirror, because you would not see anything anyway.
But that will certainly cut the costs a bit
That’s right, but only in the sense that the A110 R is therefore not even more expensive than an A110 S. And now it already saves €35,000. And admittedly: in many ways you feel where that money has gone. It’s to Alpine’s credit that they didn’t just increase the turbo pressure by a bar and were done with it, but managed to take the A110 to a new level with many small but effective interventions. It is measurably the best version of the French sports car. But the R doesn’t stand out in one respect: fun on the open road. That fun is there, but no more than in an S. And that makes it a bit of a disappointment. But a great one.