This Cayman Fighter is the Sports Car North America Needs
It’s called the Alpine A110 and it’s Renault’s newest sports coupe.
Debuting at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show, Renault is reviving its Alpine brand with the limited-edition A110 two-seater that some might consider an Alfa Romeo 4C competitor. That’s because the Alpine A110 is lightweight, tipping the scales at 2,381 pounds (1,080 kilograms) and powerful enough thanks to a 1.8-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine with 252 horsepower and 236 pound-feet of torque. And like the Alfa Romeo 4C, it doesn’t offer a manual transmission (sad!) and only comes with a seven-speed dual-clutch unit. The result is a zero-to-62 mph (0-100 km/h) time of 4.5 seconds.
2017 Geneva Motor Show Coverage
The bad news? Well, Alpine won’t even mention the U.S. when it comes to availability. At Geneva, the automaker is showing off a special Premiere Edition model with a price tag of €58,500 ($61,800), which lands it in similar territory as the Porsche Cayman and Alfa Romeo 4C, assuming the Premiere Edition is sold at a premium compared to the standard model.
So is there any reason to be hopeful considering Renault isn’t even sold in North America? It’s a reach, but the Renault-Nissan alliance could bring the A110 to the U.S. as a Nissan-badged car, even if it’s a limited edition model of sorts. But who are we really kidding, it’s just wishful thinking to believe a fun-to-drive, mid-engine sports car would make its way to the U.S.
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Jason Siu began his career in automotive journalism in 2003 with Modified Magazine, a property previously held by VerticalScope. As the West Coast Editor, he played a pivotal role while also extending his expertise to Modified Luxury & Exotics and Modified Mustangs. Beyond his editorial work, Jason authored two notable Cartech books. His tenure at AutoGuide.com saw him immersed in the daily news cycle, yet his passion for hands-on evaluation led him to focus on testing and product reviews, offering well-rounded recommendations to AutoGuide readers. Currently, as the Content Director for VerticalScope, Jason spearheads the content strategy for an array of online publications, a role that has him at the helm of ensuring quality and consistency across the board.
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This is Exactly the car Nissan needs right now. I definitely appreciate the Focal brand speakers in the car instead of the usual Harman International (including JBL, Lexicon, Mark Levinson, Infinity, etc.)