Alpine A110 is not a Renault!

Resurrected French sports car brand Alpine has just launched its new $100,000 mid-engined, lightweight sports car in Australia and the reviews have been very positive.

The niche sports car brand is off to a strong start in Australia with more than half of the initial batch of 60 Alpine A110 Premiere editions, priced at $106,500, already sold.

Alpine is owned and overseen by parent company Renault, but despite all the synergies between the companies -- including shared manufacturing facilities and even engines -- the Alpine is not a glorified Renault.

That's the word according to Renault Australia managing director, Andrew Moore.

"It's not [a Renault], it's an Alpine," stated the Renault boss.

Alpine A110 Review

"Is a Porsche a glorified Volkswagen? I don’t want to say that, because a Porsche is a different company, a different brand that has different ways of doing things to Volkswagen.

"That's what this car is as well," said Moore, who argued that like Porsche, Alpine has a parent company in common but that is all.

The new Alpine A110 is hand-built at the same Dieppe facility as the Megane RS, with which it also shares its 1.8-litre turbo-petrol engine.

A quick poke around inside the Alpine A110 revealed that it shares many parts with the Renault Megane, including the electric park brake, speed-limiter and cruise control buttons. The door-handles and steering column also come from the Megane.

Nevertheless, Moore says the Alpine is a unique proposition.

"This is so hand-built compared to your normal modern production. The plant in Dieppe is different, it has a uniqueness in this respect," said Moore.

In Australia customers will purchase the car through Renault dealerships. At present Renault Brighton in Victoria is the sole dealer, with another showroom to be appointed soon in Sydney.

Featuring aerodynamic bodywork draped over a lightweight aluminium chassis, the Alpine A110 weighs just 1060kg at the kerb. Together with its 185kW/350Nm engine output and a little help from launch control, the rear-drive Alpine A110 will accelerate to 100km/h in a claimed 4.5 seconds.

The gearbox is a motorsport-inspired Getrag dual-clutch seven-speed automatic with steering wheel-mounted paddle-shift manual override.

Exclusivity is guaranteed in Australia because Alpine will sell no more than 100 vehicles per year. This is partly due to extreme demand in Europe – Moore says there are almost 6000 back-orders globally – but also due to an agreement within the local motor industry not to sell new vehicles without side airbags in large numbers.

As for the car's competitor set, Moore says it's the Alfa Romeo 4C and Porsche Cayman.

"Cayman is the main rival. Personally, I think with the heritage of the [Alpine] brand it's in a different level to the Alfa Romeo 4C. I know it's priced similarly and the Alpine brand is not as well known here as in Europe, but I think the heritage of the Alpine brand puts it above the 4C.

"The Audi TT is more of an everyday prestige car, but obviously Porsche has a huge racing and performance heritage -- that's where I see this car."

What do you think? Do buyers care if there are a few Renault Megane parts on the Alpine A110 sports car? Have your say in the comments below.