The Magnificent Alpine A110 Has Only 12 Months Left To Live

Do you hear the people sing? Singing the song of angry men? It is the music of the people who will buy Alpines again! In celebration of the French performance brand's 70th anniversary Alpine is bringing its long-serving A110 sports car to the end of production with a simplified lineup and a pair of new models. A limited 210-unit run of Alpine A110 R 70s will mark the end of R model production later this year with 70 examples of each in the colors of France's Tricolore: Bleu Caddy, Blanc Glacier, and Rouge Sismique. Each of the three colors will feature a carbon-fiber roof with the bare carbon exposed in the pattern of the 70 Years of Alpine logo. From this moment forward potential Alpine customers will have just 12 months to get their orders in before the books close forever on this segment of Francophile motoring history. 

"Alpine turns 70! 70 years of passion, excellence and innovation that we intend to build on for the next 70 years. We will celebrate this anniversary throughout the year with all our customers, clubs, fans ... past, present and future. To mark the occasion, our iconic A110 is available as an exceptional limited edition, the A110 R 70. It is part of the new A110 range, which will be available for the next 12 months before passing the baton to the future electric A110" announces Philippe Krief, the CEO of Alpine Cars.

The R 70 model is equipped with scads of carbon fiber, from the roof, rear window, rear spoiler, hood, and each of the four wheels. As with the mid-level A110 GTS model, the R 70 gets a 300-horsepower turbocharged four-cylinder mounted amidships with a dual-clutch gearbox. Speaking of the GTS, which is basically an R model without all the fancy carbon fiber, it can be equipped with a new GTS aero kit matching the R's track-focused splitter, side skirts, and gooseneck rear wing. With the optional 18-inch GT Race wheels and Michelin PS Cup 2 tires, you can probably drive your much less expensive GTS to within a narrow margin of the incredibly pricey R 70. If you're looking for a bargain, however, you can get the standard 252-hp A110 base model, which runs just €65,000, compared to the €79,500 GTS, or the €122,500 R 70.

This car will go down as one of the all-time great French machines. Sadly, it never did make it to America. I look forward to seeing what Alpine does with its next-generation small sports car, which will be fully electric.