you lucky man matt The Alpine make porsche cayman seem bland .I need to take one out for a test drive ,did you buy it from the dealer in winchester
Thank you. Being so biased I probably shouldn’t comment… but… yes, it absolutely does do that. I fell in love when I first saw it at the Geneva motor show and haven’t looked back since. Mine is from Manchester, who have been fantastic to deal with and highly regarded by others too; the chief technician is a true petrol head and evangelist for the cars, having worked on Alpines of old. That said the whole Alpine concept has changed a lot since I took delivery, and will continue to do so as they make the shift to EVs and position the brand differently. Don’t let that detract from the cars though - if you get what they are about, as a sports car for the road they are brilliant.
On the engine and powertrain aspect, I don’t want to come across as defensive but to an extent I respectfully disagree. Like you say Alistair the broader factors with emission targets and regulations are forcing the entire industry down this road, but whilst the engine is far from the standout feature, it does add to the experience Alpine set out to create. Cards on table - big, heavy, over-engined cars have never been my bag. But what the A110 powertrain lacks (weight and inertia) is what makes the whole car so special. It’s got a unique sound profile compared to how it was used in the Megane, gurgles at low revs, then raspy and rorty, spinning up fairly quickly with some fairly expressive turbo whistles and induction roar. I admit the pops are a little manufactured on the overrun, but with such close gear ratios at normal speeds it not only punches above its weight but also adds a layer of intensity to how it goes down a road. The gearbox is very different to that used in the Clio - dry clutch and unique ratios. Of course it can’t hold a candle to the 4.0 GTS engine for reach and noise, which I’d love especially as mine is the ~250bhp tune, but it is so much more characterful than the 2.5 boxer engine in my opinion (and I do think the Cayman and Boxster is a great car in any spec). It’s very different to the powertrain in my GR Yaris too, which is so strong for such an engine (1.6 3cyl turbo).
The Alpine powertrain is actually why I wanted to stick with a manual in the Plus Four; the B48 combined with those (very) long gears suit less frenzied progress than I suspect the ZF would encourage. As the chief engineer once said about the A110 - if you miss the manual, you’re not driving it hard enough.
As for hunting Caymans and 911s, I couldn’t possibly tell some of the stories from my trips to the Alps. Being 300kg lighter than a Cayman, with that chassis, makes for some very interesting comparisons up on the mountain passes. The Emira is slightly heavier again, and the new M2 is what 600kg more. The engineering that went into the Alpine to achieve that low weight is second to none and makes it a unique proposition in the market.
Ah I sound defensive again now and I really don’t intend to. I’m far from blind to its limitations and quirks, but as Alistair said, it’s a great package given not just the price (although that has rocketed) but the time and market it was launched in. So much so that I hope it will be seen as a genuine modern classic in years to come, which it seems to be heading towards when you consider the joy, recognition and respect it gets out on the roads.
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