Alpine on track for 2016 re-launch

Since the last Alpine rolled off the production line in 1995 you’d be right to think that not much has happened with the brand. But for the past 12 years, former Renault Sport boss and current CEO of Alpine, Bernard Ollivier, has been working to resurrect the treasured nameplate, and return it to the low-volume, highly desirable sports marque we so vividly remember.

And this won’t be the same ‘monster’ as the A110-50 concept we saw previewed at Monaco last year, says Ollivier. Instead, the new Alpine will be a true recreation of the core DNA of great models past, albeit with some ‘modern values’.

Mr Ollivier admits he is ‘quite excited’ by the challenge of creating not just the Alpine, but an all-new Caterham as well. The project is a joint venture between the pair and will see two very different bodies share mutual underpinnings, but the details, so far, are a closely guarded secret.

"[The Alpine project] is very strategic for us, [but] I can say that lightness is very important. The iconic A110 was a very good mix between style, weight and performance, and the new Alpine will be the same. It will not be a car that will go to 300km/h, it's about the pleasure you take from the short bends,” Mr Ollivier explained.

"The new challenge is quite exciting – to re-launch the Alpine brand in a joint-venture with Alpine and Caterham – my challenge is to design two cars; [fortunately] the brands are not so different. Our objective is not to go very fast, it's [about] pleasure in the bends."

The philosophy and enthusiasm behind the Alpine project is refreshing and will give those who appreciate the purity of driving a real sports car the option to do so at a realistic price. Mr Ollivier said that unlike Porsche the priority for his car is ‘not on expense’ and that in Europe he envisages a price tag of ‘somewhere between 50,000 and 70,000 Euro’.

"It is very difficult to find a competitor in the same position as Alpine,” explained Mr Ollivier. “Porsche [for example] is not light, it's about high speed. It was very close [to Alpine] 40 or 50 years ago, [but] now it is quite luxurious. Alpine's DNA is not about luxury. It's about 'premium sport'".

Despite this admission, Mr Ollivier said that the new Alpine will likely attract buyers with a similar nature to those looking at Porsche, and predicts that many of the marque’s future buyers may indeed be snaffled from the iconic German brand.

"A lot of our future customers will come, probably, from Porsche. Not because our car is a competitor with Porsche, but because Porsche is too strong with [its] pricing,” he said.

Porsche may yet have the upperhand on Alpine, who despite the best intentions, will remain a relatively niche operation.

“We are quite modest,” said Mr Ollivier. “Our projections are for only 25,000 cars for the life of the project.”

The new Alpine will be made in both left and right hook versions with a view to sale in not only the EU, but in Russia, India, China, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa and, wait for it, Australia.

A production model is expected to be shown at a motor show closer to the new Alpine’s release in 2016.

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