2023 Alpine A110 R verdict and specs

Verdict

Let’s answer the question we posed at the beginning. Has fitting track focused suspension, stripping out the sound-deadening from the engine bay, and introducing more aggressive aerodynamics, taken away from the character of the standard Alpine A110? Well, there's no simple yes or no to that.

What Alpine’s engineers have done is give the A110 R a completely different character to its soft and supple sibling; it'll satisfy the requirements of hardcore track day-goers in a way that the standard car simply wasn’t designed to do. It’s also hard not to be impressed at how Alpine’s engineers have managed to seriously raise the on-track potential of the A110, while still retaining the base car’s innate sense of approachability and playfulness.

Being less easy to live with than the standard car costs it a fifth star, but enthusiastic drivers will love that added sense of occasion even more. You better move quickly if you want one, though. The 32 cars coming to the UK this year are already spoken for and the limited number of build slots available for 2024 are filling up fast. And at £89,990, we can understand why – sounds mad, we know, but the limited-run A110 R is only a touch more expensive than a base Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 (and you’ll want to add options on that), while the £128,820 track-focused BMW M4 CSL sold out almost instantly. As a very happy Alpine employee remarked to us, ‘fulfilling demand will be the tricky part’.

What Car? rating 4 stars out of 5

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Alpine A110 R

Price £89,990 Engine 4cyl, 1798cc, turbo, petrol Power 296bhp at 6300rpm Torque 251lb ft at 2400rpm Gearbox 7-spd dual-clutch automatic 0-62mph 3.9sec Top speed 177mph Fuel economy 41.5mpg (combined)? CO2/tax 153g/km, 35%?

Rivals:
Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS
BMW M4 CSL

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