Evolving a small volume marque with a heritage in motor sport into a medium sized brand specialising in electric cars and SUVs will be no easy task. Renault believes it can be done, though, as the plans it has for Alpine reveal.
Launched at the end of 2017, the A110 has remained fresh thanks to a series of tweaks and special editions. The brand’s sole model has performed amazingly well and resale values are as strong as Alpine’s image.
Renault revised the A110 line-up last November, the three variants becoming A110 (replacing Pure), GT (formerly Légende) and the top spec S retaining its name.
The base car’s 1,798 cc turbocharged engine produces 185 kW (252 PS) and 320 Nm with equivalents for the GT and S being 221 kW (301 PS) and 340 Nm. All three had some minor revisions to their interiors. The sole transmission remains a seven-speed DCT.
The strategy of launching relatively frequent special editions continues, the latest one – Tour de Corse 75 – having premiered at the recent Goodwood Festival of Speed. There will inevitably be several more derivatives to come, as well as a facelift in 2023.
The A110 successor, due in 2026, will be electric and a joint venture with Lotus.
Not only will it be a long wait for the e-sports car but the brand’s next additional model likely won’t be launched until 2024. That’s when a small hatchback should arrive.
Alpine’s Clio-sized car will be based on the Alliance CMF-B EV platform and is certain to share a lot with the Renault 5. That also means it will be front-wheel drive. With a life cycle of probably seven years, the B-hatchback will be in production until the early 2030s.
Customer demand for such vehicles being what it is the world over, there will of course be an Alpine SUV too. This was confirmed by Renault in June 2021. As well as stating this, an image of three darkened car silhouettes was shown at the same time (see above).
The Alpine C segment electric crossover will be called GT X-Over and production will be at the marque’s historic factory in Normandy, newly renamed as Manufacture Alpine Dieppe Jean Rédélé. The first examples are due off the line in 2025. Will there be other – smaller and larger – SUVs later in the 2020s? Almost certainly.
Reports for many other manufacturers’ future models are grouped in the OEM product strategy summaries section of Just Auto.
Future platform intelligence
More detail on past, current and forthcoming models can be found in PLDB, the future vehicles database which is part of Global Data’s Automotive Intelligence Center.
This is the second of multiple future model reports centred on the brands of the Renault-Nissan Alliance. First came a feature on the Renault brand and next will be a focus on Dacia (and Lada). After that it’s Mitsubishi, Infiniti. Venucia and Nissan.