Alpine plotting faster, lighter A110 coupe

Alpine is already working on an even faster version of its A110 coupe, even before the French Porsche 718 Cayman rival is launched in 2018.

The news that a quicker version is under development was revealed at the international launch of the A110 in France this week.

According to a senior Alpine source, a faster version of the A110 that could go head-to-head with Porsche’s upcoming Cayman GTS is "inevitable", but how the extra performance is extracted is yet to be decided internally.

"There are two ways to increase performance for the A110 — give it more power or take out weight. It is a challenge."

When pushed further on how much more power could be extracted from the coupe's 1.8-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder, the French engineer replied that "power" wasn't the issue.

"The engine can produce much more power, even more than the Megane RS [205kW/390Nm] … the limitation is not the engine, but the A110 transmission -- it's not the same,” he said.

The Alpine A110 coupe runs a smaller, more compact dual-clutch seven-speed transmission than the one fitted to the forthcoming Megane RS, and the Alpine 'box is said to be "near its limit" with the A110's 320Nm torque peak.

So instead of more power, motoring.com.au can reveal that Alpine will extract the extra performance from its born-again sports coupe with the addition of lightweight carbon-fibre body panels.

As part of its development, the A110 roof panel was engineered to be interchangeable with a carbon-fibre part. Factor similar savings from a lighter bonnet, boot lid, a stripped-out interior and the option of a full titanium exhaust, and savings of more than 50kg are not out of the question.

This, with a marginal lift in power, if not torque, could see the A110’s 0-100km/h acceleration time fall from the current car's 4.5 seconds to less than four seconds.

To cope with more track-focussed driving, the faster A110 could come with stiffer, retuned sports suspension.

Read a new review of the new Alpine A110

Likely to be called the Alpine A110S or A110 Sport, the faster Alpine coupe will reportedly command a price premium of more than 10 per cent over the base car.

Renault Australia, meanwhile, has confirmed that the A110 will arrive Down Under by June next year.

Announcing that it will launch a new Alpine app to help buyers specify and order their cars in March, newly appointed Renault Australia managing director Andrew Moore confirmed that the small A110 would be priced around $90,000-$100,000.

The ex-Suzuki boss also confirmed that the Alpine A110’s lack of side airbags would limit imports of the relaunched brand's first road car in more than two decades to just 100 units per year.

He said that Renault Australia will sell the A110 through two specific Alpine dealers, and confirmed that only the higher A110 Pure trim would be imported.

It comes standard with larger 18-inch lightweight rims, a sports exhaust, and leather and Alcantara Sabelt seats.

Moore also confirmed that, despite "little or no marketing", Renault Australia has received higher than anticipated interest and that the French brand’s dealer network has already received 10 deposits.