Alpine boss Philippe Krief has vowed that the second-generation, fully electric A110 sports car will be better to drive than its fabled predecessor in every aspect.
The two-seater is due to be revealed in full next year, but the French firm has shown a first glimpse with the A110 Future running up the hill at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
That machine is a development car, featuring the new Alpine Performance Platform (APP) and electric powertrain underneath bodywork based on the petrol A110, which recently went out of production.
Alpine has developed the APP from scratch for the new A110, forgoing the underfloor battery typically used in an EV for two smaller packs at each end of this chassis. This allows the car to sit lower and balances the weight distribution.
Krief said that the new A110 is marginally longer and wider than its predecessor but shares an identical length-to-height ratio.
Asked by Autocar what the new A110 must achieve, Krief said: “First of all, it has to be a sports car. In terms of shape, the car is an A110. In terms of product, it has to perform as a sports car should, so it must be fun to drive.”
Krief said the firm’s development brief was to “beat the [current] A110 in all areas that made it a success, such as the feeling of lightness. The new platform allows us to develop a perfect integration between mechanics and electronics.”
He noted that around 95% of the components on the car are new and not shared within the wider Renault Group.
He also cited the development brief to ensure the EV could lap a circuit at “maximum speed and maximum lateral acceleration” for at least 20 minutes.
