The next-generation Alpine A110 could be fitted with a combustion engine, brand boss Philippe Krief has confirmed – although he insists the first focus is on developing an uncompromised electric sports car.
The new model is due to arrive next year as the successor to the current two-seater in coupe and convertible forms and will sit on a bespoke new architecture, the Alpine Performance Platform (APP).
As previously reported by Autocar, the APP will also be used by the Renault 5 Turbo E mega-hatch and is designed to accept an innovative powertrain featuring a pair of rear motors.
Extensive torque vectoring will be used in a bid to offer the same ‘lightweight’ feel as the current ICE A110. In-wheel motors, as seen on the 5 Turbo 3E, could eventually be offered too.
Alpine has now shared more details of the APP, which features 800V electronics, uses aluminium to reduce weight and increase agility and has two battery packs – one stacked in the front of the car, the other in the rear – to allow the car to sit lower and feature a 40:60 weight balance.
Krief said the split battery design “is a technical complication” but “it was necessary because otherwise the car would have been too high”.
Krief declined to give details of the battery size, adding that the focus was “that we are developing a sports car, so we want the performance to be track-ready”.
He said the A110 EV would offer more than 340 miles of range, a figure that was set so that it could complete three laps of the Nürburgring with “the full potential and capacities of the battery”.
The rear battery is stacked up and largely sits where a combustion engine would, which Krief said presented “an opportunity” to adapt the platform to accept one.
He said: “We asked what it would mean to make the platform compatible with an ICE. If the answer would have been that it would make the electric car worse, there’s no way we’d have done it. But with some small modifications on the platform we can accommodate an engine, gearbox, fuel tank and all you need.”
Krief declined to give details of what engine might go into the A110 but admitted that it would likely be offered only in certain markets, particularly the US, where EV target rules were recently rolled back, making EVs less appealing to buyers.
Join the debate
Add your comment
AMC Construction LLC is your trusted design contractor and custom home builder in Columbia, TN, offering dependable and high-quality residential construction services since 2013. With a strong focus on craftsmanship, attention to detail, and timely project completion, the team is dedicated to delivering homes built to last. At AMC Construction LLC, we don’t just build houses — we create homes that reflect the dreams, lifestyles, and personalities of the people who live in them, serving clients looking for custom home builders in Chapel Hill, TN and surrounding areas.
I doubt it will live up to its forebear, but I believe that even in Europe the preferred option for a car of this ilk will continue to be the internal combustion engine. Did I understand correctly that the ICE engine will be placed at the front this time?
Autocar, if you have any influence with Renault, please advise them to write the wrongs of the first edition by giving the Mk2 a manual gearbox, a proper handbrake and a spare wheel. Then, it will be the tactile, connected and genuinely usable fast sports tourer many of us want.
Autocar, if you have any influence with Alpine, please advise them not to listen to people on the internet who aren't going to buy one, but want you to make a bigger, heavier, old-fashioned car anyway.
Dear autocar please explain to general public how a manual gearbox is smaller, lighter, less complicated, cheaper and more realible than a automatic one.
It's all about choice porky.