Automotive

(From Automotive News) Renault's Italian-born CEO Luca de Meo has a brave ambition: to build a sports-car brand, barely brought back to life, into a Ferrari fighter. Alpine, the French marque that Renault revived recently after 20 years of dormancy, is a ...  

I could recently test drive several of them: Pure, Legende, and the S. This car is pure madness, a real pleasure to pilot. I was and still am totally convinced. At the point I will get one. Now the big question is to know what they will do: Alpine will ta... 

But the parent company has to love it too for long-term owner support and satisfaction. I was surprised how low the production figures are. The Lotus Elise is in the same ballpark — at the beginning 2-4,000 a year but for the last decade it’s been well un... 

when he was at Audi/Volkswagen - after seeing the Alfa 4C (which is a small Ferrari). However, Fiat was not willing to sell - so now he gets desperate imho

at Alpine they have something called Quality Control.

I have been fortunate enough to own several in the past. Hopefully, eventually they have the success with the A110 that they deserve. My only concern its difficult to succeed and develop the next generation model if you aren’t selling sufficient volumes. ... 

that is what they used to be, a wonderfully quirky alternative to the Porsches back in the day, more basic and direct than the larger, heavier Italians. I hope they never lose that wonderful character they've had through their history.

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I can not make a cake of Alpine. Lotus at the other hand i can understand. Thinking about James Bond his Esprit, it can be good for Alpine to be more known when they use the cars in a James Bond movie. Painful i saw Chris Harris his escape from a burning ... 

And do we really need another sports car when a Tesla Model 3 Performance can run circles around this thing and can keep up with $200,000 Ferrari Portofino and McLaren 570S?

$55,000 USD gets you a Model 3 Performance; 0-60 in 3.2 seconds. They're certainly very fast and they offer excellent steering performance and handling. Mediocre brakes. Now, I'm a big fan of the nice cars from Aston Martin, Lamborghini, Ferrari, and Roll... 

... will always prefer this car above any other in the same price region .... but they have to have the opportunity to test it. And IMO here lies the big problem Alpine faces. When it came out in 2017, every Alpine freak wanted one, those with money bough... 

Such as the Lotus or... This Alpine. The engine is not that noble, in the Alpine, but it works very well, and it is full of life. And the whole car is such a charm! I told you, I remember our discussion very well, that I thought that 252 HP were maybe not... 

I was under the impression the aluminum chassis would require extensive rework. I would probably have gotten one if that wasnt for the lack of a manual transmission, I find that rowing gears is most satisfying. I understand the a110 is a fantastic package... 

but the automated gearbox is really not a problem. The cabin is really cramped too so not sure I would be physically able to row gears manually

Maybe in 2021. My problem is that I always buy my cars second hand and there is zero depreciation that I can see on that model so I might need to make an exception for this little one

Today another friend ordered one LOLOL ....

by any reputable after market auto engineering firm. S

... but i read something about the decision NOT to use a manual. First was the weight, apparently the double clutch is lighter 😳 ? Anyway, the second problem was the fitting of a manual that was nearly impossible. Now offcourse if you give a company like ... 

Could be interesting 😁