Long-Awaited Alpine Sports Car Debuting On February 16

The long-awaited Alpine sports car is set to debut on February 16 after years of development, a fall-out with Caterham and many sneaky test mules.

In a teaser posted to the brand’s Twitter account, the Renault-owned company said: “We wanted to announce our come back, but some would say we never left”. A brief video revealing the ‘16.02.16’ date follows, suggesting that that will be the date the spiritual successor to the iconic A110 is launched.

It is reported that the new Alpine will be dubbed the A120 and be offered in a range of specifications. All will be powered by a turbocharged 1.8-liter four-cylinder based on the 1.6-litre unit of the Renault Clio RS, tweaked for increased performance and different power delivery coupled with the seven-speed dual-clutch transmission that was just recently developed for the Renault Talisman.

In standard trim, the A120 is expected to pump out around 250 hp but a more hardcore model with 300 hp on tap is believed to be on the cards. As the A120 will weigh just 1100 kg, it’ll rival the likes of the Porsche Cayman and Alfa Romeo 4C.

To help achieve that 1,100 kg figure, aluminum has been used throughout the vehicle’s construction. Originally, a 1000 kg target was set, but that idea was scrapped after it was discovered that it couldn’t be achieved without the use of carbon fiber, which was deemed too expensive and not worth the weight advantage.

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