Stripping out even more weight creates the most hardcore version of Alpine’s sports car yet On sale Now Price from £89,990
Neil Winn Neil.Winn@haymarket.com
MAKING A CAR lighter improves every element of the driving experience: you can stop quicker, turn quicker and accelerate quicker.
And yet, in a world currently obsessed with electrification, developing lightweight cars is not particularly in vogue. Even Lotus appears to have forgotten founder Colin Chapman’s advice to “simplify, then add lightness” as it turns its efforts to building the Eletre – a two-tonne electric SUV.
It’s a good thing, then, that French sports car maker Alpine is here to restore some order with the A110 R – the quickest and most driver-focused version of the A110. It’s slashed more than half a second off the A110 S’s 0-62mph time, not by ramping up horsepower but by trimming down weight and making a few other tweaks.
The A110 R has the same 296bhp 1.8-litre four-cylinder engine under its bonnet as the S, but that bonnet is carbonfibre rather than (slightly less expensive and lightweight) aluminium. Various other large parts have been switched to carbonfibre too, including the roof and wheels. The cumulative effect is that the car weighs just 1082kg, which is nearly 25% lighter than the similar-priced Porsche 718 Cayman GT4.
Combined with firmer suspension, the changes ensure that the car feels even more poised and taut than the regular version. The steering has more weight and precision around th
