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Cars > Renault > Renault Alpine A110-50 2012

 By Ketan Patel View Comments

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Renault Alpine A110-50 2012 Review

The legendary Alpine A110 which became known as the "Berlinette" turns 50 years and to mark the occasion Renault creates the Alpine A110-50 2012. You might smirk at the idea of yet another French supercar but trust me, if it's any good as the Alpine A110 was back in the days, you're in for a treat. Let's take a look at what the car has to offer.

The Alpine A110-50 is motivated by a 3.5 liter V6 petrol engine able to develop 400 horsepower at 7,300 RPM and 311 lb-ft of torque at 6,200 RPM. The engine then sends its power to the rear wheels through a sequential six-speed gearbox inspired by what you'd normally see in a F1 car.

It sports a carbon fiber body, carbon fiber air intakes, a set of 21 inch wheels with a single central nut and Michelin performance tires. Interestingly enough, the design of the Alpinehas been made using CFD technology (Computational Fluid Dynamics) which is generally used in F1.

Furthermore, to improve driver feedback the Alpine concept goes "old-school" and does not feature ABS, traction control and other driving aids. Nevertheless, it comes with Sachsdampers that can be adjusted in compression and extension.

The braking is done with the help of 356 mm steel brake disks with six-piston callipers at the front and 330 mm brake disks with four-piston calipers at the back.Other than that, theAlpine is basically built around the same technical platform as the Megane Trophy, and so it shares many similarities with it.

The exterior design of the Alpine A110-50 is clearly inspired by the Renault DeZir concept which made an appearance at the 2010 Paris Motor Show, and what's rather disappointing is that although it celebrates the Berlinette, truth of the matter is the A110-50 hardly commemorates its ancestor when it comes to exterior design. The only thing that reminds us about the Berlinette is the set of half-domed additional LED lamps that manage to somewhat mix the classic style with a modern look.

As for whether or not the French car manufacturer plans on reviving the whole Alpinebrand, Renault's Laurens van den Acker mentioned that they need to take in account whether or not such decision would be viable from a financial standpoint. Needless to say,Renault is planning on making a decision regarding this matter later this year.

Overall, the Renault Alpine A110-50 is an interesting concept and we'd really like to see it go into production and succeed, but in my opinion it's rather disappointing that in terms of design it doesn't share more similarities with the Berlinette. True, it doesn't claim out-front that the old Alpine A110 is its source of inspiration and it clearly isn't, but for a car that is supposed to celebrate a classic, it's a shame that the only thing they have in common is a set of head-lamps.

Renault Alpine A110-50 2012

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