Alpine A110
I went today for a short '' test '' drive with an Alpine A110 .
That car intrigued me since I saw it at the Geneva Show last year . Very liight car for todays standard ( around 1100 kg ) , loads of aluminium , central engine , small , looks good without being too much , thought it could be a real fun little car for every day .
I had a 40 min drive in it with the salesman sitting next to me . So it was not really a test , just a spirited drive on country roads .
The car is very well thought . Every piece has been made as light as possible, nice little details everywhere . Makes me think of the first TT when it came out . Different then the competition . And the Alpine pushes it even further with it s mid engine and excellent chassis . A chassis not too stiff for a DD , but sporty enough to feel in a sports car . A good compromise .
The handling is excellent !!! The low weight is such an enjoyment that speeds all the way into the superb breaking , the balance .
Steering in normal mode is a bit too soft and distant but in sports mode it gets better . Could still be a bit better .
The engine has enough power , but then, I am not a fan of the turbo, even if the lag is not too bad .... for a french mass produced engine .
The car is high in demand . Over a year waiting list . About 5200 orders . This was supposed to be a very small production car . Demand is much higher then anticipated .
Not much space to put stuff in the car . Truck is tiny .
The car is an event when driving it , even when driving slow . I tried a Gold R the other day, and that was utterly boring except when accelerating fully .
The car does feel a bit cheap compared to a Cayman .
Would love it in manual .
All in all , I could see myself owning one as a fun little DD instead of a heavy , over inflated Carrera . This is the way to go .
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964 Carrera 4 -- 997.2 C2S , -20mm -- 991 GT3 RS