Alpine has bold plans to go global in the coming years with a new range of electric hot hatches, coupes, roadsters and SUVs. But until they arrive all it can do is tinker with its one current model, the A110 sports car, to persuade us that it’s worth buying even when the axe is hanging right over its head.
The latest round of lineup fiddling has resulted in the A110 R Turini, a slightly more affordable version of the hardcore A110 R that’s been raising pulses on track, and raising eyebrows in dealerships due to a scary €100k+ price that makes it over 70 percent more expensive than an entry-level A110.
One of the reasons the R costs so much is its extensive use of carbon fiber. The model’s front splitter, hood, side skirts, engine cover, diffuser and rear wing are all made from the stuff, as are the gorgeous wheels. The new R Turini retains the carbon body features, but swaps the high-tech rims for some less exotic 18-inch multi-spoke alloy wheels.
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We’ve no doubt that Alpine’s engineers can come up with all kinds of graphs to prove that the carbon rims’ lower rotational- and unsprung masses mean the straight R is the better car to drive, but there’s no arguing with the savings (or the reduction in parking stress for those owners who live in urban areas). The carbon-shod R costs €112,000 in France (£96,990 in UK) while an R Turini will only set you back €106,000 / £91,490.
That’s still a lot of money for a car that has the exact same 296 hp (300 PS) 2.0-liter powertrain as the €77,500 / £67,490 A110 S, and costs considerably more than the €93,070 / £73,300 Porsche wants for a 718 Cayman GTS. True the A110 R is more hardcore than the GTS, but with the Porsche you get a 394 hp (400 PS) flat-six that helps differentiate it from lesser Caymans.
