You Can Now Order Alpine's New 250bhp Cayman Rival

Porsche and Lotus will be paying close attention to this. Reborn sports car maker Alpine has opened the order books for its first car of the 21st century, and it's set to be both faster and cheaper than a Cayman S

Matt Kimberley

09 Dec 2016

You Can Now Order Alpine's New 250bhp Cayman Rival

Alpine has opened the order books for a special launch edition of its new Porsche Cayman-rivalling sports car – before anyone even knows what the production version looks like.

In total, 1955 ‘Premiere Edition’ models will be made – a reference to the year in which Jean Rédélé set up the original company before building the famous A110. What’s more, customers will be able to choose their number, between 0001 and 1955, but you can bet that both bookends have already been snapped up. The number will be engraved onto a plaque inside the car.

We know precious little about the new model, apart from rumours suggesting it will be called the A120. Alpine says the 0-62mph sprint should be possible in 4.5 seconds thanks to extremely low weight, making it a tenth quicker than the long-geared Cayman S.

Autocar is claiming that power comes from an enlarged version of the 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder in the Renault Clio RS, with capacity bumped up to 1.8 litres for a power hike to around 250bhp.

French magazine Auto Plus is saying that a Renaultsport version is planned as well, with power closer to 300bhp. Comparatively, the Lotus Exige Asport 350 uses a supercharged V6 with 345bhp and cracks the benchmark sprint in just 3.7 seconds.

The concept's wheel arches are more flared than the production car's

The price for the A120 Premiere Edition is set at between €55,000 and €60,000, making it cheaper than the Lotus, with a €2000 deposit securing a car and letting you choose a number. Colour options will cover blue, white and black.

British buyers could expect to add a few thousand to the current exchange rate to pay for the conversion to right-hand drive. Auto Express is guessing around the £50,000 mark.

Its tech spec will be revealed early next year, says Alpine, with Auto Express saying that the first deliveries will start towards the end of 2017.

More lightweight cars are understood to be on the way in Alpine’s plans, but it should be some time before projects are signed off and put into production.

Comments

The Seat Leon Cupra is probably cheaper an more powerful

Am i the only one who is pissed about the fact that it’s mid-engine and not rear-engine like the old one?

Yes and no. It would be interesting to see another rear-engined car in the market, but mid-engine just makes more sense here. I mean, real backseats would be nice, but at the same time, better weight distribution is worth it. This is much like the new GT to me, people whined about it being a TT V6, but should we really celebrate a car that was ahead of its time by being retro? I think it’d be an insult to a car that looked to the future for us to have something based on it that looks only to the past.

I have to say I honestly don’t care about these 4 cylinder cars. Just no soul, no emotion. Give the Cayman it’s Flat-Six back!

You clearly haven’t driven a newer lotus or the alfa 4c have you? Yes the sound of the flat 6 is missing from the new 718, but holy hell that car (mind I drove the boxter, not the cayman) was not just surprisingly good, but defied belief. It did not feel like a 4 pot. Second, the most engaging car I have ever driven is an Exige. It will make your face hurt with the huge grin it puts on your face. That car, and the alfa have soul in spades. I have high hopes for Alpine