Renault’s resurrected Alpine brand revealed a mid-engine two-door sportscar, the A110, at the Geneva Motor Show. The A110 sports car will now get its very own one make championship as the French carmaker has teased the hardcore A110 Cup racecar.
The all-new A110 Cup race series will take place across Europe for next year for the 2018 season. Around 20 track-only A110 will form the grid. All of those race cars will be designed, built, sold and homologated to FIA standards by Signatech, said the Dieppe-based carmaker. Signatech is the French racing brand responsible for Alpine’s LMP2 race team in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) and at Le Mans.
The single teaser sketch, with the racecar lurking in the pit garage, reveals a wider front track with a tow hook and racing decals. Also visible are the aggressive front splitters, probably made up of carbon fibre. Racing modification would include a stripped out interior with a roll cage. There will be a racing exhaust and a track focused aerokit. The A110 Cup car will be lighter further than the production spec’s 1080kg weight.
There will be bump in power output from the 1.8-litre turbocharged motor, which produces 250bhp in its standard guise. A racing transmission is also expected to replace the dual-clutch unit in the road going A110. It will be also be riding on special race-spec tyres to channel all the performance of the lightweight, rear-wheel driven French racecar down on the track.
Alpine is no stranger to the motorsports. The original A110 Berlinette was a formidable race car between 1960-80s; being the first car to win the World Rally Championship in 1973. The Alpine GTA was famous for its performance in the European Cup between 1985 and 1988. When Renault introduced the Alpine brand, the motorsport heritage was certain to show up soon.
More details of the Alpine A110 Cup racing series is promised to be revealed in September. Stay tuned to CarWale for all the latest developments.
