Alpine reconsiders electric-only future

FRENCH performance car brand Alpine is prioritising its next A110 EV high performance sportscar for production but the company’s CEO Philippe Krief says the platform could also support ICE, and potentially PHEV power, if required.

“Alpine explored whether the platform could support an internal combustion engine without compromising the EV’s performance or design,” said Mr Krief.

“We asked what it would mean to make the platform compatible with an ICE.

“If the answer would have been that it would make the electric car worse, there’s no way we’d have done it.

“But with some small modifications we can accommodate an engine, gearbox, fuel tank and everything required.”

While Alpine has not confirmed plans for such a model, pundits say the option could provide the brand with additional growth opportunities in markets where EV demand remains limited.

Mr Krief suggested a combustion-powered A110 would likely be targeted at markets such as the United States, where demand for traditional sports cars remains strong and EV adoption has been slower than expected.

“The segment is around 350,000 cars per year, and about half of that is in the US,” he said.

“For now, our business is to focus on Europe, but naturally the growth could come from the US, so we wanted to keep that possibility.

“The platform has been engineered with enough flexibility to accommodate a combustion engine if required but Alpine’s immediate focus remains on delivering an uncompromised electric successor to the current A110.”

Like many other European brands, Alpine could be hedging its bets on powertrain technology rather than going full EV as it has said in the past.

By confirming the next-generation A110 will “primarily” launch as a fully electric sports car it has left the door open for a future combustion-powered version.

The new A110 is due to debut next year in coupe and convertible forms and will sit on the company’s newly developed Alpine Performance Platform (APP), an architecture designed primarily for high-performance electric vehicles.

From a technical standpoint, the APP architecture, shared with the Renault 5 Turbo E, features 800-volt electrical technology and a dual rear-motor powertrain designed to deliver strong performance while “maintaining the lightweight, agile character for which the A110 is known”.

The system uses extensive torque vectoring to allow it to distribute power between the rear wheels every few milliseconds, helping replicate the responsiveness and balance of the current mid-engine sports car.

To clarify, Philippe Krief said Alpine’s development priorities remain firmly focused on delivering an EV that lives up to the brand’s performance DNA.

“We are developing a sports car, so we want the performance to be track-ready,” he added.

The electric A110 is expected to offer more than 547km of range, a target Alpine says would allow the car to complete three laps of the Nürburgring (about 62.5 kms) while maintaining full performance.

Like Lotus since its 1991 Elise, the Alpine platform is constructed in lightweight aluminium featuring an unusual split battery layout designed to preserve the car’s low centre of gravity and handling balance.

One battery pack is positioned at the front of the vehicle, while the second is mounted at the rear – largely occupying the space where a combustion engine would normally sit.

According to Alpine, the configuration allows the new A110 to achieve an approximate 40:60 front-to-rear weight distribution while maintaining a low roofline and seating position.

Mr Krief acknowledged the layout “added engineering complexity” but said it was necessary to achieve the desired sports-car proportions.

Interestingly, the packaging of the rear battery pack has also created the possibility of adapting the platform for a combustion powertrain.

In addition to the two-seat coupe and convertible versions, Alpine is reputedly also developing a larger 2+2 variant of the A110.

That model will feature a different battery layout – with the pack mounted beneath the floor in a more conventional “skateboard” configuration – enabling a longer range of more than 595km.

The A110 family is a central pillar of Alpine’s future product strategy, and Mr Krief confirmed development resources are currently focused on the sports car range.

Previous plans alluded to for two larger electric SUVs have been shelved as the company concentrates on strengthening its performance-car identity.

As things stand, the next-generation A110 is set to usher Alpine into the electric era while simultaneously retaining combustion options – hedging its bets in an effort to “balance innovation with the expectations of traditional sports-car enthusiasts”.