What's all this about?

This is the Alpine A110 Tour de Corse 75, a new limited-edition model inspired by one of Alpine’s great rally cars from the 1970s and replete with a rally-style livery, as well as a few other little tweaks.

To what exactly is it paying tribute?

As the name suggests, it’s paying tribute to the A110 which came second in the Tour de Corse rally in 1975. Though the Alpine, which was driven by Jean-Pierre Nicolas, lost out to a Lancia Stratos in the hands of Bernard Darniche, it was a close-run thing that came down to the final stage of one of the trickiest rallies on the calendar over Corsica’s narrow, twisty tarmac roads. The car that took part was, like the Tour de Corse 75, finished in a mostly yellow livery and, partly because the company doesn’t make a huge deal of it these days, it’s easy to forget that the A110 was a formidable rally car in its day; Jean-Pierre Nicolas actually won the Tour de Corse driving one in 1973.

So is this new limited-edition designed to go rallying?

Not really, no, though it almost looks the part with its two-tone black-on-yellow paint, white stripe graphics, 18-inch gloss white wheels and orange Brembo brake calipers peeking through. Inside, the Sabelt racing bucket seats (embroidered with a Tour de Corse 75 motif) can be specified with a competition harness, though otherwise the interior is much the same as the regular A110, retaining creature comforts such a multimedia system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity. In short, to actually compete in a proper rally, owners would still need to make fairly extensive modifications such as adding a roll-cage, fire extinguishers and myriad other safety and compliance devices.

What’s the performance like?

Performance hasn’t really been boosted over the standard A110 and, as such, there’s 300hp from a 1.8-litre turbocharged four-banger being sent to the rear wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. That should make the Tour de Corse good for the 0-62mph dash in 4.5 seconds or so.

Limited edition? How limited?

Just 150 examples of the Tour de Corse 75 will be built, with only five destined for the UK. Each unit will feature a numbered plaque.

How much?

Prices start from £66,855, which isn’t far off Porsche Cayman GTS money, though remember this is a strictly limited-edition model.

David Mullen - 17 Jun 2022