► More details on Alpine’s new electric A110
► 600km range, 1400kg, dual motor powertrain
► CEO promises it’ll still feel like an Alpine
Alpine has a delicate few years ahead. It’s embarked on a quest to launch seven new cars before the end of the decade, one of which will be an all-electric replacement for its much-loved A110 sports car.
That presents a problem for Alpine’s credentials, though. The company has built its reputation on lightweight engineering – but electric cars are notoriously difficult to strip weight out of. Alpine’s new A390 SUV, for example, weighs a whopping 2.1 tonnes despite being one of the sleekest, lowest cars in the segment.
The reason for this is simple. Most car manufacturers haven’t figured out how to slim down their EV battery packs, but Alpine’s next-generation vehicles might have cracked the code. We got chatting to the firm’s CEO, Phillipe Krief, at the launch of the A390 – and he promised the A110’s successor won’t be tubby.
‘The weight target of the new A110 is below the best – the actual best – ICE cars, such as Porsche or even the 488 Pista,’ he said. ‘Below Boxster and Cayman. 1.4 tonnes. 1.45 to be precise if I remember well.’ To put that figure into perspective, the current A110 weighs a little over 1100kg, while the lightest MG Cyberster tips the scales at almost 1900kg.
Kreif’s aggressive target has caused plenty of engineering headaches. He cantered through the check list, saying: ‘You use battery cells that are high – very high – energy density. In terms of motors, you optimise and integrate all the functions.
‘The motors, transmission, inverter, the dc/dc charger, everything in one box. Then in terms of vehicle integration, you fight for every millimetre you can reduce. Every kilo on each single part, you integrate the functions. I’m not saying it is easy.’
What about range? There must be a compromise
Apparently not. When quizzed about whether he was prepared to trade range for lightness, Krief said: ‘no – that would be too easy.’ In fact, he said the A110 EV will have a range ‘close to 600km’ (around 370 miles), which would make it every bit as usable as its predecessor.
Charge times should be quick, too, as Krief confirmed the A110 will feature an 800-volt electrical architecture. That should be enough to allow the battery to charge from 10 to 80 percent capacity in less than 20 minutes at a suitably powerful rapid charger.
One thing Krief wouldn’t confirm is exactly where the batteries will be mounted. He said: ‘if you put underneath, the car is too high. So, you cannot. And so, we have to find a different space.’
We suspect the batteries will be positioned behind the driver, about where the engine is in the current car. However, Alpine could also split the pack up and spread it either side of the passenger compartment for better weight distribution. It all depends on how flexible the Alpine Performance Platform proves to be.
There’s bound to be a handling penalty, right?
Nope. Krief is confident drivers won’t lose out in the handling department, either. Alpine’s current approach for its EVs is to instil a ‘feeling of lightness’ through clever chassis tuning and intelligent dual-motor torque vectoring on the rear axle that can help rotate the car into corners and offset the massive inertia of the battery pack.
Krief also reckons the way the new A110’s controls react will play a big part in making it feel light. He pondered: ‘how do you perceive lightness? You perceive lightness because the system which is EV, is slower to respond. This is the way you see lightness.
‘You don’t put your car on the balance [scales]. If it’s slow, it’s EV. If, when you accelerate nothing happens, it’s heavy. If, when it brakes, it takes time, it’s heavy.
‘So, if you give to a car the sense of the benefit of electric – quickness in steering and responding. Quickness in braking. Quickness in recovering from understeer and oversteer. Then you have a feeling that the car is light. In terms of time response, you know, it’s ten times faster than ICE.’
Will buyers care about an electric Alpine A110?
We’re sceptical. Rival sports car brands such as Porsche and Lotus have been forced to row back from their EV commitments, announcing plans for fresh petrol-powered models to combat the slow sales of their latest electric cars. It seems wealthy buyers prioritise the sensations of a combustion sports car over the eco-piety of electric ones.
But Krief doesn’t seemed fazed. He’s confident drivers will accept the car, saying: ‘what we are trying to do is to sell pleasure, exclusivity, premiumness – and you can do that with electric. We are not selling electric cars, you know? We are selling sporty cars, passion cars, exclusive cars that are electrics.
‘I think that interpretation of the way you make pleasure with a sports car is suitable. I really have no doubt about the fact that when we will succeed in doing an A110 electric, there won’t be any doubt about the fact that the car is an Alpine. Any doubt whatsoever.’
However, if everything happens to go pear-shaped and the electric A110 sells about quickly as Colgate Lasagne, Alpine has an ace up its sleeve. The APP architecture can be adapted to support a petrol engine.
Krief explained: ‘one thing we learn now is that, especially in the last 10 years, things are changing so quickly – and you need to react quickly. You can decide something now, be convinced of that and then, in two years’ time say, you know what? Yeah, it’s really [not the right choice anymore].
‘APP is a new platform – and it’s a platform that needs to run for, I would say, nine years. As it has to run for nine years and as the cost of internal combustion engine, there’s no impact on the platform. A very small impact.
‘Because the multi-energy platform [like you’ll find under the cars shaded by the Stellantis umbrella] is not good for electric, but not good also for [ICE] – but in the case of APP we can install a combustion with a low impact technically. So, we are package protected for. It doesn’t mean that we will have it, but we are package protected.’
Whatever the outcome, we haven’t got long before we see the finished car. Krief said the final A110 EV will break cover at the 2026 Paris Motor Show. We’ll update you with more info as soon as it’s available.