NEW Alpine A110 R review: it's a track DEMON | flat out with Steve Sutcliffe

Can a four-cylinder sports car possibly be worth £89,990?
Read more at Auto Express:
New 2023 Alpine A110 R review: bit.ly/40Jvoq2
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Alpine is on a roll right now. Its global sales are up by over a third year-on-year and its reputation as a manufacturer of serious but fun-to-drive sports cars is growing rapidly where it matters. There’s also a convincing range of EV sports cars in the pipeline to rival the company’s main competition from Porsche, Lotus et al.
But for the time being, the A110 is still very much Alpine’s stock-in-trade car, and the new A110 R is its new superstar. It’s not cheap at just a tenner short of 90 grand, nor does it boast any more power than a regular A110 S, its 1.8-litre four-cylinder turbo engine producing the same 296bhp and 340Nm as the S and GT cars.
Instead, Alpine has gone down the ‘clubsport’ route to give the A110 R the extra focus and performance it surely needs to justify its £30k+ price hike. As such, the R’s kerbweight has been reduced by 34kg while its aerodynamic and mechanical grip have been increased by adding wings and fitting more aggressive Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres as standard. In this review, Steve Sutcliffe finds out just how far the R moves the game on.
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[@jryalls]

Autocar - Take note

[@dommo9056]

Great review and amazing car. Those people complaining about the cost should do a little more research into exactly what has gone into making an already very light car - lighter. You only have to watch this review to see what a difference those changes have made to the character of the car., Well done Alpine 👍🏻

[@GadgetyMV]

Looking forward to the A110R vs GT4 twin test.

[@i.m.Q.2]

Cup 2's? :-s as you say on a dry road at least! Add to that above 45F too as those things don't do well in winter temperatures. That being said and despite the fact you generally don't drift, I see your point based on the stability in that situation. 10% stiffer? If you're interchanging rigidity with stiffness, in physics terms? That's doing something more than one might think-agreed to totally. BTW-I think you're my favorite test driver of all the car videos I watch. You and "some" others on this channel in particular speak car more fluently than others, and I like the certain objective perspective you put into these things. Its nice to see something about a given car and actually have a quantifiable idea as to how it drives. It amazes me to see how many car videos are there, they tell you everything under the sun about it except how it drives. It makes no logical sense especially if you're a driver! 👍👍👍👍

[@foxyobrown]

Love your reviews steve!

[@ultimatist]

Let's do the twin test with the GT4! On a variety of b-road surfaces!

[@ricardorodrigues3508]

th a110 its only worth its money vs a gt4 in countries that heavily tax CC and CO2, in the UK that is not the case, maybe in france or portugal or the scandinavian countries its much cheaper to buy a 110r, for example in portugal a 110r base cost is 105000 euros and the cayman gt4 is 150000 euros, also the a110 only pays 240 road tax while the gt4 pays 850, but lets face it, someone having money for the alpine also has money for the gt4

[@stevewhite9653]

Beautiful car and a great review as always Steve. Please tell me you can turn off the red line shift up beep - it was doing my head in just on the video!

[@GeordieAmanda]

Yay, more Steve ❤ What a terrific car. The size alone makes me want it. I have an M3 (G80) and it's too big for my favourite roads and the steering wheel is too fat for my smaller hands. It ruins the driving experience for me (although the steering feel is pretty poor anyway). That's not to say the G80 isn't a fab car, it's astonishingly competent. In some ways it's too good and makes me pine a little for my previous M4 (F82), a slightly scary car, but what fun to drive on the right road. This Alpine however, wow, just wow . I love the stock Alpines too and I'm sure Litchfield could always tweak something if I wasn't happy with it.

[@jamsxr]

Interesting comment. I’ve not driven one, but my perception is that the F80 is a little too much for most road driving. I don’t find the S58 a particularly fun motor, it’s almost too clinical.

[@GeordieAmanda]

@@jamsxr The F8x series had a bad reputation because of engine's ability to produce big torque number very low and down and very quickly. You could break traction at almost any double figure speed, in the dry and on a smooth surface, if you tried hard. But as long as you knew there was a potential accident waiting to happen all the time, it was fine. 😁 I think it gave me more of a sense of occasion when I got into it and started her up (I had the noisy MPE exhaust). My F82 M4 was also a very pretty car. Also, to be fair to BMW, the F8X series got better with age as BMW continued to tweak the design pretty much throughout its life. They tamed the torque spike a bit, improved traction and even did things like put the Competition dampers onto the base model car after a couple of years to help it out too. I could also get my hand around the steering wheel which helped 😂

[@jamsxr]

@@GeordieAmanda sorry, typo, I meant G80! I think I prefer the F8x series with the N55. I meant the G80 is a little too clinical with the S58 engine.

[@GeordieAmanda]

@@jamsxr The G80 is astonishing in its ability, but it's got big shoulders and tight twisty roads are definitely not its forte. I have to say, you feel incredibly safe in it, even when you have it in one of its myriad of silly settings. I've only briefly tried RWD at speed, and it feels a lot less lairy than my F82 did. The engine is so different to the previous S55 version that you wouldn't think it was from the same manufacturer. Funnily enough, I have had many more compliments about the car than I ever did in my M4 (F82). Perhaps it sticks out a lot more (pun intended).

[@aryaahmadi4029]

Endurance racing winner of a car and a world-class automotive journalist.

[@sande1212]

Steve is one of the best to do this!

[@001sander2]

Any plans to film in 4K resolution? Some channels are already on 8K.

[@michaelteret4763]

More Steve, please!

[@brianiswrong]

It's a bold move to price it at £90k That got to be up against some good new cars,and a bucket load of used track/ road special cars.

[@ERICtheLATE]

I like the new spot for the steering wheel!!!!!!!! 👍🏁🍻

[@steveberridge4648]

Steve, please take one to Llandow so we can compare it to the 718 cayman GT4. It looks amazing.

[@pauln0371]

Fun fun fun...

[@octaveful]

Best auto journalist in the game

[@rajchoudhury5130]

Not in your face, simple and beautiful. NEED ONE! Wow

[@lucacula3388]

Funtastic car but that beeping for gear change is so annoying.

[@smiler921]

Does the new carbon bonnet mean even less storage? I’m not really shopping 110R but I’d still want my main car to be able to handle luggage for a road trip

[@aitorgallego98]

It's carbon as standard and with the same luggage but there is an option call "ultra light" which further reduces weight but takes out the front storage but you can select if you want it or not

[@cj41079]

So you can save about 20k if you bought 60k A110 with after market carbon bits, lighter wheels and track tires......carbon bits, wheels and tries won't even come close to 10k but let's say you went with best aftermarket......

[@Franzino]

You know how expensive carbon wheels are? They are super expensive!

[@enriquetabernero5118]

Jarama

[@d.serrador9277]

What a circuit!

[@mrmorizofan7001]

those drifts makes whole video bit childish. I understand they look cool but you should go fast not slide around. Looks like the balance is totally off with that car

[@mrjulot_7]

You don't understand alpine's spirit

[@zakelwe]

The problem is the cost, £90k is just too much. You could buy a standard 110 for £52k and get a remap, the same sticky tyres and more adjustable suspension and save a lot of money. No doubt there are aftermarket light weight wheels, carbon bonnet etc, you could dump the seats and air con as well if you really want to concentrate on the track and it would still be better riding on the road and have more punch. And still be cheaper. The fact they ask another £40k for the Fernando Alonso edition ... I'd get a 2nd hand Aston and forge his signature on the dash !

[@Yautah]

yeah but it won't be factory warranted. if something goes wrong in your R you can just go see renault and they'll know how to fix it and it might even be free (if they're responsible for the f*ck up). If you do that yourself or with a garage, it gets stickier when something goes wrong.

[@James-oo1yq]

@@YautahYeah, but you’ll have zero warranty if you track it anyway.

[@mlhj83]

@@James-oo1yq Most manufacturers in Europe do not void warranty for non-competitive track use that has dealership service history and has been maintained properly.

[@luniaenglundt4904]

Kind of correct. Afterall, this is a factory version with all the warranty and service for it. The well known companies to tinker with performance are great alternatives. Costwise you won't end up too far from that though. Bodyparts,suspension etc very quickly add up as-well. And these solutions will need some tradeoffs. They are not always fully developed and can create their own problems. Most importantly imho however: Resale and collector value.

[@ALMX5DP]

A manual transmission away from near perfection.

[@FenderUsa]

EPAS gets in the way of that too

[@pistonburner6448]

And a proper engine. By the way, do the Alpines even have a limited slip diff?

[@FenderUsa]

@@pistonburner6448 no they dont have LSD, i assume because of weight and the understeer it would introduce

[@pistonburner6448]

@@FenderUsa = so cost cutting, because that standard Renault-Nissan parts bin gearbox didn't have one already. No real sports car is without limited slip diff. And yes, that includes all the Lotuses and McLarens without one.

[@FenderUsa]

@@pistonburner6448 low powered cars don't really need them as much. I don't doubt an LSD would benefit the 110 in slow corners though

[@TG-pd3ft]

so it's £30k for the tyres and those disgusting wheels. Not for me

[@pistonburner6448]

The most lightweighting is done to your wallet though. Far too much for lots of the car being Clio parts...including the heart (well, a variation of the Clio/Qashqai/Espace engine...). Why, oh why couldn't they just put in an engine with more personality and a manual option? That price class needs more than a 4-pot (or even a special 3-pot would at least have some nice sounds). Then I could almost justify paying so much.

[@luniaenglundt4904]

Some parts are Clio, or even Dacia basically, true. Never heard of a recent Clio with 1.8l however. Soundwise it could generate more excitement, but apart from that it really does the trick. The whole aluminum body just is exceptionally exclusive, personally I can live with that. Manual would be nice, but Alpine mostly chose it for development and cost reasons. What would be much nicer is a manual handbrake.

[@VK6AB-]

Good chassis, poor engine, poor gear box. 90k - No. GT4, 4L NA flat six, PDK gear box and great chassis. No contest. Nothing against the Alpine but its mutton dressed as lamb. The more road focussed variant makes a lot more sense, that is fun, agile and a great weekender. At least it has a dry sump so it wont oil starve.

[@mrjulot_7]

Test the car, you will see 😉

[@VK6AB-]

@@mrjulot_7 No need, own GT3 RS.

[@mrjulot_7]

@@VK6AB- not bad, but boring.

[@VK6AB-]

@@mrjulot_7 lol ok.

[@jansefran1752]

This car is pure ADRENALIN ... Mr. Sutcliffe is happy ... Wery happy. A 110 R is a WEAPON. 🚙👍✌💪🙏🚀🛸⏱🏆🥇