Stop Production
After the last Alpine A110 rolled off the factory floor in Dieppe, something in the industry died. The last R 70 A110 assembled is number 28,701, and it’s built to a spec that pays homage to the brand’s legacy of making lightweight sports cars.
From the first of the 28,701 units ever produced, the A110 has always kept true to its ethos: a lightweight mid-engined sports car that was sorted and consistently brought driving enjoyment to its owners. It’s possibly one of the best lightweight pound-for-pound kings in its segment, though Porsche Cayman owners and Lotus fans might have something to say about that.
Its successor is likely to be electric. Rumors suggest Alpine plans to launch in the United States, but without the outgoing A110. Instead, the new sports car will feature electric motors and batteries, which is a night-and-day difference compared to what the A110 represents.
Alpine
Au Revoir
The A110 is a rare gem of an automobile, and it’s got a cult following that’s ready to defend it to the last man. Hyperbolic, yes, but there’s something to be said about how special the Alpine A110 is in a world where cars keep getting heavier and heavier. When Alpine launched this car, it turned a few heads, but if you didn’t know what you were looking at, you might have mistaken it for another car.
Under its “hood,” you have a turbocharged four-cylinder engine that makes up to 250 horsepower at the base level, but over the years, Alpine has boosted it to as much as 345 horsepower in the A110 R. In the modern world, where electric hatchbacks and mom-mobiles can make the same amount of power, the Alpine A110 ends up looking a little weak in comparison to every other new car out there.
“Only” up to 350 horsepower, but the real beauty behind this mid-engined sports car is its weight. What made this car so amazing to drive was Alpine’s unwavering commitment to creating something that was truly lightweight. In its ultimate form, the A110 R weighs only 2,390 lbs, while the more “normal” versions range from 2,429 to 2,513 lbs.
However, that might change when the next generation of cars comes out for Alpine, as there are rumors that the French automaker is considering a 1,000-horsepower hybrid supercar to take the fight to Maranello.
Alpine
This Will Never Happen Again
Cars keep getting bigger and bigger, and with stricter and stricter safety regulations, we can expect those numbers to rise, but even more so now that electric cars are taking over with huge battery packs needed to meet range and power requirements.
The Alpine A110 stood as one of the last bastions when talking about lightweight sports cars, but that’s not the case anymore. Now, we know that the Mazda MX-5 is here to stay, and Mazda is doing its best to keep the model in dealerships for as long as possible. However, you can’t talk about a lightweight sports car without mentioning Lotus, which has now done a soft quit of sorts. The Emira is far from what the brand was pushing back in the late 90s to the mid 2010s. Ever since it was bought up by Geely, it has never been the same.
Cars like these are a dying breed. The closest rival to the A110 is possibly the Porsche 718 Cayman, but even that had to say “Tschüss” in October 2025. This type of car might never come back, so perhaps it would be a good time to actually buy an A110 or a similar model before you never get the chance again.
Alpine Cars
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