2017 Alpine A110, It Is Back !!

The car before you is the embodiment of the words heritage and legacy , it is the Renault Alpine A110 and it is back !! After more than 20 years of truancy the company behind one of the most iconic models decides to give it another try with a bespoke design and performance. Just when Porsche thought that the playground is free and that the small performance cars market is within reach , Renault decided to take the burden of facing the German Titan .

The dramatic lines  of the car are surely inspired by the model from the 1970's and Renault wanted to reaffirm that through the cars circular headlights , the  shape of bonet and backend of the Alpine . The car is small in terms of height and width to give it the maximum efficiency and make an airbender out of it . The new Alpine was released at the 86th edition of Geneva Motor Show and it did turn heads by virtue of its undeniable enriched legacy .

Before I proceed with the details that make the Alpine one of the best cars for 2017 , here's some history for the readers who are interested in known the consequences that led to creating this outstanding model and have a glimpse of its past . 

Alpine models were produced originally by a company that have a main interest in racing and sports cars , the company's name was "Societe des Automobile Alpine" a French name of course that means "Company of Alpine Automobile" . It was very close to Renault because they mounted their models from the 50 's and 60's with engines produced by French car maker to cut expenses. Jean Redele the company's founder believed in his cars , and with concrete steps he managed to collect several major titles like "The Alpes Cup" and later on "Monte Carlo Rally" in which the Alpine of the 70's came in 1st , 2nd and 3rd place , but Alpine's name shook the world of motorsport when the 110 won the World Rally Championship against Porsche , Ford and Lancia . This particular car pushed the people fron Lancia to give us the Stratos , so we need to be highly appreciative to this car . The company  already owned by Renault in 1973 was merged with a tuning Fench company called Gordini to form the Renault Sport Formula racing team and that another  reason to be indebted to the French small company because Formula one wouldn't be complete without Renault Sport in it . 

The production of Alpine models was ceased in 1995 , by looking at models from the 80's and early 90's like the A310  and later on the V6 powered Alpine LeMans we can all have the same conclusion , you get the feeling that the company counldn't keep up with the pace that has been set by other iconic car manufacturers .

Going back to 2017's Alpine A110 , you can instantly feel that Renault are serious about keeping up . The delicacy of this design gives the impression that the car was forged by a harp player and that the car itself is made from pure Akoya pearls and not aluminum . The intense use of Aluminum which is now common in parcticly every car today , results are astonishing in terms power per weight ratio because the car weighs only 1080 kilos which makes lighter than its main rival the Cayman . 

18 inch wheels and satilite navigation system come as standrad for the Premiére edition which will offer 1955 that are already sold at a 60k dollars price tag . 

What interest me as a feature in this car , and unlike any other rival in this segment , the Alpine A110 has double wish bone suspension configuration all around the four wheels ( If interested as I am scroll to the end to find out about this system ) . Other cars either uses a Mcpherson configuartion and multi-link at the back or the wishbone only up front , not the Alpine beause they wanted to be a track day car eqaully as it is an everyday useable car unlike the Alfa Romeo 4C . 

The Alpine is equipped with Brembo brakes and a 4 pistons caliper at each of the front wheels for good braking , but it comes without a limited slip diffrential which can turn either ways for the car and Renaults customers . 

The Alpine came back to life because of its inline four cylinders turbo charged 1.8 engine that develops 248 hp and 238 lb-ft reaching a top speed (limited ) of a 156 . The car is not powerful ,you might think, but you have to take into consideration the power per weight ratio and that what gives the car the chance to go from 0 to 60 in 4.2 seconds . 

The car has a twin clutch 7 speed gearbox and it comes as a standard feature of the car , sadly Renault declared that there won't be a manual option any time sooner and that is quite a displeasure because the car will be rear wheel drive . 

The interior is simple and elegant , the centre console in the middle has few controls as if you can go through the different settings by voice control ( you can't ) , the car has everything that defines the new orientation of the industry like digital gage cluster , powerful sound system , touchable infotainement system . The car has lightweight bucket seats which weighs 13 kilograms each and Alpine makers wanted to make them fixed to save more weight but they recalled that idea at the last minute because they want it to be the everyday car so they made them adjustable ( I am talking to you Alfa ) .

Before I go through the Alpine's double wishbone suspension , here's a good news for driving enthusiats , because Renault think about you they gave you the magical button with ESC written on it so you can turn everything off and have the fate of the car between your hands without going through the manual to turn it off . 

The suspension consists of a pair of upper and lower lateral arms, roughly horizontal and of similar length. The upper arm is usually slightly shorter to induce more negative camber on the outside wheel as the vehicle body rolls in a turn. Between the arms there is a knuckle with a spindle or hub which carries the wheel bearing and wheel. Knuckles with an integral spindle usually do not allow the wheel to be driven. A bolt on hub design is commonly used if the wheel is to be driven. (source:http://wikicars.org)

One of its primary benefits is the increase of negative camber as a result of the vertical suspension movement of the upper and lower arms. This translates to better stability properties for the car as the tires on the outside maintain more contact with the road surface. Handling performance also increases. The double suspension system is much more rigid and stable than other suspension systems, thus you would realize that your steering and wheel alignments are constant even when undergoing high amounts of stress. (Source: http://mechanicalmania.blogspot.com)

The only drawback that I can think of is that the double wishbone has a more complexe configuration and it is harder to repair if you want to get your hands dirty and can cost you a fortune if you hire someone to do the work for you . 

To sum up this blog and understand how the Alpine came back to life , picture Renault as your lazy friend of the squad that is highly capable of doing great things but he decided to lay back and have a good sleep , which in Renault's case making the Espace and other stupid models , but now your lazy friend decided to give you a bit of his mind and create  one of the best small perfomance cars to date.