What's all this about?
Last year, at the Geneva Motor Show, the Alpine brand roared back to life after a 22-year hiatus with the new A110 mid-engined sports coupe. This time around at the Swiss expo-hall extravaganza, it's giving us not one but two new models.
Wow, two all-new Alpines?!
Umm, no... two new derivatives of the A110, actually, called the Pure and the Legende - the original 2017 car was called the Premiere Edition. But these are exciting developments, all the same.
OK, so what's the Pure all about?
This one's for the drivers. Alpine says the Pure is the 'A110 at its lightest and most driver-focused', which is more than enough reason to celebrate because the 1,080kg Premiere Edition is a cracking sports car as it is. Without giving anything away about precise specifications, Alpine further adds that the Pure is 'destined to live its life on winding mountain roads and retains the Premiere Edition's minimalist yet high-quality approach'. So if you can make a near-tonne car more lightweight, this is it.
Is the Legende going the other way for weight, then?
You know your stuff. Yes, the Legende, by comparison, is luxury-oriented, adding more refinement and sophistication to the A110 package to make it better for everyday driving or long-distance touring. Standard equipment is said to include six-way adjustable, lightweight Sabelt seats, full leather interior upholstery and gloss-finished carbon fibre trim finishers for the cabin.
Any mechanical upgrades?
No, but this is no bad thing. Both versions use the same full aluminium structure and 252hp, 1.8-litre, turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine as the A110 Premiere Edition, as well as the seven-speed Dual-Clutch Transmission (DCT) with a wet-clutch and double-wishbone suspension all round.
Is there anything else to add at this stage?
Not as yet, although Alpine does allude to three new colours joining the A110 palette - no word as to what they might be, however. So we'll know more on the fancy hues, as well as fuller mechanical and equipment details on the Pure and Legende twins, following the French firm's press conference on March 6.
Matt Robinson - 26 Feb 2018
