Despite the fact that we don’t receive the Alpine A110 in South Africa, there’s no denying that it is one of the most talked about little sportscars out there. Back in the early 1970s, however, Alpine was well-known for their involvement in rallying and indeed won the 1973 World Rally Championship. Now, though, it seems as if Alpine wants to go back to their rallying roots. Cue the A110 Rally.
The new French rally car will sit alongside Alpine’s current track cars, the GT4 and the Cup and will share the same aluminium chassis as them. While it has similar components to its track-only counterparts, the A110 Rally does have a couple of different tools to help it cope on the rally stage.
Three-way hydraulic suspension, new Brembo brakes, a limited-slip diffrential and a six-speed sequential gearbox will all assist in making sure the Alpine will try to be as successful in rallying a they were in the past. A roll cage, Sabelt bucket seats and six-point harnesses (all approved by the FIA) will also ensure the safety aspects are taken care of.
What will be powering the little French beast? The bonnet houses the same 4-cylinder, 1.8-litre engine that is found in the road-going A110. However, power has been increased to 300 horsepower (224 kW). The A110 Rally also delivers its power a bit differently as well as when it delivers its peak power.
“This return to rallying is highly anticipated as Alpine made history when it won the first-ever World Rally Championship in 1973. To ensure the success of this new adventure, we have entrusted the research and development, production and commercialization of the Alpine A110 Rally to Signatech, our partner as well in the FIA World Endurance Championship and around the Cup and GT4 programmes,” said Alpine’s Commercial and Competition Director, Régis Fricotté.
The car will cost around €150 000 (approx. R2.4 million). Will that price be worth it? Well, we’ll have to wait until 2020 to see if Alpine’s rallying past in the 70s will ensure its success in the 21 century.
