EVO Tests Alpine a110 - says better than 718
12-10-2017, 11:22 PM
#17
Three Wheelin'
Very cool car and refreshing to see a light, mid-engine car in this day and age...
But no manual transmission. 2 steps forward, 3 steps back... but I guess that's the market these days. I fell for a dual-clutch once- thought it's what I wanted being quicker around a track and less of a pain in traffic. Never again, for me at least. I need a manual to feel like I'm driving a sports car.
But no manual transmission. 2 steps forward, 3 steps back... but I guess that's the market these days. I fell for a dual-clutch once- thought it's what I wanted being quicker around a track and less of a pain in traffic. Never again, for me at least. I need a manual to feel like I'm driving a sports car.
12-14-2017, 06:47 PM
#20
Very cool car and refreshing to see a light, mid-engine car in this day and age...
But no manual transmission. 2 steps forward, 3 steps back... but I guess that's the market these days. I fell for a dual-clutch once- thought it's what I wanted being quicker around a track and less of a pain in traffic. Never again, for me at least. I need a manual to feel like I'm driving a sports car.
But no manual transmission. 2 steps forward, 3 steps back... but I guess that's the market these days. I fell for a dual-clutch once- thought it's what I wanted being quicker around a track and less of a pain in traffic. Never again, for me at least. I need a manual to feel like I'm driving a sports car.
OTOH, I do know what you mean. I drove a couple PDK rentals this summer and thought they were spectacular. And when I bought my 2006 I felt like I would be giving something up with the 6M. But after driving it even for only the 500 miles or so I did, I am appreciating the manual more and more. In fact I'm now thinking I'd buy any P/U if they offered it with a decent V8 and an MT.
12-14-2017, 07:56 PM
#22
12-14-2017, 11:00 PM
#24
Intermediate
Join Date: Nov 2013
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Many points for low weight
Minus more points for the "styling".
When I was very very young, Dad bought a Renault 4CV, perhaps the essence of Gallic quirkiness. The "styling" was, well, humble, in a French cartoon way. That car was VERY French, great fun, and surprisingly reliable. There was nothing in the US like it. I am by no means a Francophile, but I do find the French nation to be, in all regards, completely unpredictable. This new A110 is just the most recent proof.
And good God is it ugly.
Minus more points for the "styling".
When I was very very young, Dad bought a Renault 4CV, perhaps the essence of Gallic quirkiness. The "styling" was, well, humble, in a French cartoon way. That car was VERY French, great fun, and surprisingly reliable. There was nothing in the US like it. I am by no means a Francophile, but I do find the French nation to be, in all regards, completely unpredictable. This new A110 is just the most recent proof.
And good God is it ugly.
12-15-2017, 03:14 AM
#25
Racer
French and now the Japanese both have great food but car design currently is questionable, with the Japanese currently ahead on ugly, although the Alpine looks "lumpy" to me.
12-15-2017, 12:00 PM
#26
Some notes in response to some posters, then my own take:
- That it weighs so little is precisely why it's not coming to the U.S. A U.S.-spec version of this car would likely weigh 100-200 pounds more -- not to mention cost a ton to certify by the EPA/NTHSA/CARB. Since this is a big risk only half taken by Renault (Caterham -- yes the British specialty car builder -- owns the other half of Alpine now), the potential market in this country is so small (see Alfa 4C), and building a French brand's cache and rep would be a multiyear undertaking (see Alfa 4C again, as well as Renault itself), there is zero chance we'll see it in North America.
- I, too, am turned off by the French-flag moniker. I work in fashion retail, and the French have the most petulant, backward, and elitist attitudes toward protecting their brands by far. Quirky doesn't excuse either laziness or a superiority complex ... thing is, if the A110 is as good as they say it is, then that it's French only half matters, anyway, since Caterham is involved. It's like a Lotus with a Toyota engine: The car's nationalistic cache is much more about branding than anything else.
- Thanks to the posters who put the car's design in context with the original A110. No, it's not Cayman-sleek ... but neither is an Evora, right?
- To the posters who thought the original A110 is ugly: First off, the car is not from the 1970s; it is from the 1960s. People, we're talking about a car that was launched in 1961 -- 57 years ago -- and pre-dated the Ferrari Dino (and the 275, for that matter) and the Porsche 911. For its time, the A110 was stunning, and the design influence of the car cannot be overstated. It was the car that won the first-ever WRC and was THE standard for rally racing until the mid-1970s.
OK, all that said ... No, the new A110 is not the sexiest car in its class. But it is positioned as a combination of a return to roots and a forward-thinking, stylish two-seat coupe in an age when the market for them is shrinking, even in Europe. It is auto-only because, well, the market for manuals is shrinking, even in Europe (Is there an echo?). It has a turbo 4 because, well, the market for larger engines in this kind of car is shrinking, even in Europe. See the pattern? It's all about multi-year viability for a limited-market car. Even in Europe.
- That it weighs so little is precisely why it's not coming to the U.S. A U.S.-spec version of this car would likely weigh 100-200 pounds more -- not to mention cost a ton to certify by the EPA/NTHSA/CARB. Since this is a big risk only half taken by Renault (Caterham -- yes the British specialty car builder -- owns the other half of Alpine now), the potential market in this country is so small (see Alfa 4C), and building a French brand's cache and rep would be a multiyear undertaking (see Alfa 4C again, as well as Renault itself), there is zero chance we'll see it in North America.
- I, too, am turned off by the French-flag moniker. I work in fashion retail, and the French have the most petulant, backward, and elitist attitudes toward protecting their brands by far. Quirky doesn't excuse either laziness or a superiority complex ... thing is, if the A110 is as good as they say it is, then that it's French only half matters, anyway, since Caterham is involved. It's like a Lotus with a Toyota engine: The car's nationalistic cache is much more about branding than anything else.
- Thanks to the posters who put the car's design in context with the original A110. No, it's not Cayman-sleek ... but neither is an Evora, right?
- To the posters who thought the original A110 is ugly: First off, the car is not from the 1970s; it is from the 1960s. People, we're talking about a car that was launched in 1961 -- 57 years ago -- and pre-dated the Ferrari Dino (and the 275, for that matter) and the Porsche 911. For its time, the A110 was stunning, and the design influence of the car cannot be overstated. It was the car that won the first-ever WRC and was THE standard for rally racing until the mid-1970s.
OK, all that said ... No, the new A110 is not the sexiest car in its class. But it is positioned as a combination of a return to roots and a forward-thinking, stylish two-seat coupe in an age when the market for them is shrinking, even in Europe. It is auto-only because, well, the market for manuals is shrinking, even in Europe (Is there an echo?). It has a turbo 4 because, well, the market for larger engines in this kind of car is shrinking, even in Europe. See the pattern? It's all about multi-year viability for a limited-market car. Even in Europe.
12-15-2017, 01:19 PM
#27
Just for perspective, 1960's era Ferrari, I know which one I think looks better.
http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-show...ta-scaglietti/
http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-show...ta-scaglietti/
12-15-2017, 04:55 PM
#29
My dad told me this was once a venerable automobile, frankly maybe Paul Crewe improved it on the way to prison. I wonder if Maserati face palmed when they saw the final result. PS It beat out the 911 for car of the year, yeah no thanks.
http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_10276-Citroen-SM-1972.htm
http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_10276-Citroen-SM-1972.htm
12-16-2017, 02:13 PM
#30
