Alpine A110 uncertain for Australia

Alpine has pulled the drapes off its first car in more than two decades at the Geneva motor show but it might not make it to Australia.

Set to go on sale in Europe towards the 2017, the A110 will be sold through dedicated Alpine dealers with the first 1955 Premiere Edition coupes sold from between €55,000-€60,000 ($A75,000-$A84,000) in France, inclusive of tax.

Deliveries of right-hand drive cars, meanwhile, begin in the UK and Japan early 2018 but, motoring.com.au, can exclusively reveal the A110 currently remains unconfirmed for Australian buyers.

According to Regis Fricotte, Alpine's European director, plans to import the lightweight sports coupe are only in the early stages and, despite previous assurances, the A110 is not guaranteed to reach the Australian market.

"Currently, we're just talking and trying to make it happen but so far it's not confirmed," Fricotte stated in Geneva, moments after the car's global premiere.

When asked if pricing for the A110 had been an issue preventing the small Alpine reaching the Aussie market the senior Alpine exec shook his head and said: "There's no pricing for the car yet, we're just having discussions."

Reminding Fricotte of the importance (and success) of the Renaultsport performance sub-brand Down Under, the French exec replied: "Trust me, we're doing our best to make it available".

Unveiled officially at the Swiss show, the new born-again, mid-engine, rear-wheel drive coupe resurrects the famous nameplate Alpine used from 1961 to 1977 for the mid-engine racer that won the Monte Carlo rally.

For its 21st century reboot, Alpine says the A110 has been created for those who love driving.

Instead of outright power, the Renault-owned performance brand says it has concentrated on giving its A110 a better power-to-weight ratio than a Porsche Cayman.

The result is sports car that weighs in at just 1080kg.

Keeping weight down to a bare minimum to meet its target weight, the small coupe uses lightweight Sabelt seats and all-aluminium brake callipers that incorporate an electronic parking brake in the rear discs - said to save as much as 5kg, alone.

Powered by a mid-mounted 1.8-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine developed by Renaultsport, the A110's donk produces 185kW/320Nm.

Combined with an all-new seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox, that's not shared with any other Renault or Nissan model, and with a little help from its launch control, the A110 will reach 100km/h from standstill in less than 4.5 seconds.

Measuring 4.18m, 1.8m wide and 1.25m tall, the fast Cayman-rival is based on an aluminium spaceframe chassis that helps distribute weight front to rear 44:56.

Optimising handling, the A110 comes with all-aluminium double wishbone all-round to ensure class-leading agility.

According to Alpine, the A110 will also offer "remarkable ride quality".

Featuring an active exhaust, drivers will have the option of three differing driving modes - Normal, Sport and Track that alter the engine mapping and exhaust noise.

Helping keep the A110 stable at high speeds, Renault engineers have created an advanced aero package for its performance flagship that includes a completely flat floor and large rear diffuser that, Alpine says, helps the small coupe keep stable at speeds of up to 250km/h without the need of any spoiler.