Let’s admit it – the Alpine A110 doesn’t really get the credit it deserves. It’s a small sports car with a very lightweight construction and a powerful turbocharged engine under the hood. You can’t beat this formula, especially when it is designed, developed, and built by motorsport experts like the engineers at Renault. In its most hardcore version, the A110 is more than a decent Porsche 718 Cayman rival. Don’t believe us?
The video at the top of this page shows an Alpine A110 R in a top-speed run filmed at the Autobahn. The vehicle in question is the most powerful and upgraded version of the sports coupe, which was unveiled in October last year. While power is surely very important here, there’s one number that is even more impressive, at least to our eyes – this car tips the scales at just 2,385 pounds (1,082 kilograms). That’s possible thanks to a carbon fiber diet, which shaves off around 75 lbs (34 kg) of the car’s weight.
The carbon package includes several exterior components, such as a carbon fiber hood with dual air intakes and carbon fiber wheels, which cut 27.5 lbs (12.5 kg) of fat compared to the facelifted A110 S, upon which the R version is based. Probably the highlight of the upgrades from the lightweight material is the engine cover at the back, where the glass cover is gone to save a few pounds from the car’s total weight.
Under the new carbon fiber engine cover, there’s a 1.8-liter turbocharged mill, which in this application delivers 300 horsepower (224 kilowatts) and 251 pound-feet (340 Newton-meters) of torque between 2,000 and 6,400 rpm. On paper, the 0 to 62 miles per hour (0-100 kilometers per hour) acceleration takes just 3.9 seconds, while the top speed is 177 mph (285 kph). Can it actually reach this velocity on the road?
This video takes us to an unrestricted section of the German highway where the sports car from France unleashes its full potential. The peak speed it hits is 167 mph (270 kph), which is a little short of the factory numbers. The driver says you’ll need a really long straight section with no traffic if you want to hit the speed limiter.
