Renault’s resurrected Alpine brand introduced the A110 sports car upon its revival. Following the footsteps of the two-door Porsche Cayman rival, the French carmaker has gone back to the drawing boards to develop a rival SUV to the Porsche Macan. The development of the second production vehicle is already underway even before the A110 has hit the roads.
The family utility vehicle from the resurrected car brand will carry the same design and engineering individuality like the A110 sports car. Where the A110 will be the benchmark model for Alpine, the upcoming SUV could be the volume-generating model in the same way as the Macan is for the Porsche.
Alpine has benefitted from Renault’s alliance with Nissan. So the first SUV need not be built from scratch as the underpinnings can be scrounged from the alliance. Even Mercedes-Benz or Infinity can lend the platform for Alpine’s SUV with its rear-wheel or all-wheel drive layout. The design elements will be taken from the A110.
However, since Alpine is known for developing sports cars, the SUV will need to have those sporty genes as well. It will surely be light weight given Alpine’s expertise in using light weight material as demonstrated in the A110. Other sporty hardware will be borrowed from Renault Sports once they debut in the upcoming new Megane RS hot hatch.
Under the hood will be the same 1.8-litre turbocharged unit from Renault. There is no word on the inclusion of a diesel power plant, however, an electric or hybrid powertrain is on the cards. The SUV will be well laden with features as well since it has well-established competition in the form of Porsche Macan and Alfa Romeo Stelvio amongst others. Expect the Alpine SUV to roll out before the turn of the decade.
