Sports car brand, Alpine, will return to the Goodwood Festival of Speed this year with the production-ready A110.
Ahead of going on sale in the UK in early 2018, the compact and agile two-seater A110 will be seen in motion for the very first time in this country when it will take to the hill as part of the legendary Supercar Run.
On display will be the very Alpine that won outright at the 1978 Le Mans 24 hour race, the triumphant Alpine A442 B. Running up the hill will be a member of Alpine’s victorious rallying heritage – the A310 – as part of the Touring Car, NASCAR, Drift & Rally group.
The presence of these cars, both past and present, underlines Alpine’s fascinating and glorious history as well as providing an insight into the future of the marque with the new A110.
1978 Alpine A442 B
This is the racecar that won Alpine outright victory in the 1978 Le Mans 24 Hours, with Jean-Pierre Jaussaud and Didier Pironi. Its success was the culmination of five years of work, the A442 B evolving from the first normally-aspirated A440, the A441 and then the turbocharged 442. There were many wins in Sport World Championship events on the way, but plenty of heartache before Alpine’s ultimate goal was scored.
The A442 B was powered by a 2.0 litre turbocharged V6 that enabled it to hit a staggering 223mph on the Mulsanne straight and set what was then the fastest-ever lap time recorded by an Alpine at La Sarthe. On the day of its victory Renault President and CEO Bernard Hanon, who had set Alpine’s Le Mans goal, announced that the team would withdraw from endurance racing to contest Formula One.
1977 Alpine A310
The Alpine A310 succeeded the Alpine A110 starting production in 1971. Larger than the A110 and – from 1976 – with a V6 engine, the A310 had great success in French rallying as a Group 4 car, winning the French Rally Championship in 1977 with Guy Frequelin behind the wheel.
2017 Alpine A110
The 2017 Alpine A110 was launched at Geneva Motor Show earlier this year, combining the timeless Alpine principles of light weight, agility and performance. This mid-engined two-seater sports coupe is true to the spirit of its predecessors and in particular the A110 ‘Berlinette’. Alpine returns to Goodwood to claim its position in the sports car segment, with one, single-minded promise: driving pleasure.
The A110 has an aluminium platform and body, aiding in a kerb weight of just 1,080kg. Its compact size (just 4178mm long, 1798mm wide and 1252mm high), optimal weight distribution (44% front/ 56% rear) and low centre of gravity are all dedicated to agility – especially on the type of winding mountain road that made Alpine’s reputation back in the 1960s and ‘70s.
The A110 is equipped with a new 1.8-litre four-cylinder turbocharged engine with a maximum power output of 252hp and maximum torque of 320Nm. Combined with the low kerb weight, the A110’s excellent power-to-weight ratio of 233hp: tonne enables the car to accelerate from 0 to 62mph in only 4.5 seconds.
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