French sports car brand will go it alone with an all-new chassis architecture after the collapse of its joint-venture with Lotus
Alpine has been forced to invest in an all-new chassis architecture for its next-generation Alpine A110, but the new platform could provide the basis for a new family of sports cars and SUVs from Renault’s performance vehicle brand.
While the mid-engined, rear-drive sports coupe was axed in Australia back in 2021 due to fast-tracked side-impact regulations, fears rose shortly after Lotus-Alpine split that the Alpine A110 might be dropped altogether because the British-French joint-venture was originally created to share the high cost of developing a new platform.
But now, according to Alpine boss Luca de Meo, the company remains committed to an A110 replacement and its shift to an all-electric powertrain.
“We had a long discussion and finally decided to build our own platform,” he told Autocar.
De Meo revealed that as well the A110, the new platform would be used for not only for other Alpine sports cars but stretched for use underneath other all-new models, likely including SUVs.
More will be revealed at Alpine’s investor day on July 26, de Meo told Autocar.
Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi was also eager to reveal Alpine’s new product plans, which are said to include the launch of five new cars in five years, starting with the all-electric Renault 5-based Alpine A290 hot hatch in 2024.
Next up will be the Alpine GT X-Over compact SUV in 2025, followed a year later by an unnamed new sports car in 2026. The final two models will be larger SUVs created to spearhead Alpine’s expansion in the US market.
To achieve its aim and keep costs low, Alpine says it will leverage both existing Renault tech and platforms outside the group, suggesting more possible collaborations with another brand.
The next Alpine A110 was originally set to share both its architecture and tech with the Lotus Type 135 sports car. The new platform was said to have stacked its batteries vertically behind the driver to provide for ‘mid-engine’ weight distribution and boosted agility.
It’s thought Lotus will continue to evolve the Lotus-Alpine platform, despite the French brand’s exit.
Speaking of which, de Meo said Alpine’s split from the Chinese-owned British brand was amicable.
“There was no friction with the thing because everybody was feeling like this was the best thing,” he told Autocar. “It doesn’t mean we don’t have opportunities to work together again.”
One of the projects the two could rejoin forces on could be to develop a platform to underpin larger SUVs; that could see the Lotus Eletre donate its platform and powertrain to a future large Alpine SUV.
Alpine will reveal more of its future plans on June 26, perhaps including more details on its next A110.
Join the conversation at our Facebook page Or email us at [email protected]
Keyword: Next Alpine A110 to be based on bespoke platform