Alpine launched the A110 sports car in 2017 as its first model after becoming a standalone brand within the Renault family. Six years is usually around the age when many automakers prefer to change generations of their models, but apparently, this won’t be the case with the A110. The French automaker wanted to keep it almost unchanged for as long as possible and maximize the model’s lifespan.
According to a new report from Automotive News, Alpine intends to sell the current A110 until the end of 2026 when a fully electric successor is expected to be launched. At that time, the sports car will be almost ten years old. Demand, however, is currently growing, which is a positive sign that Alpine’s strategy can be successful.
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“We are in the fifth year of the project, normally you see a decline, but we are increasing sales,” Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi told the online publication. This is a bit of a surprise but indeed, the 2022 figures show 3,546 sales, or 33 percent more than the previous year. More importantly, almost all of 2023 production has already been said, meaning demand won’t fall in the next 12 months.
Even more interesting, the sales of the A110 beat the Porsche Cayman in Europe last year. This sports car from Stuttgart is considered a top competitor to the A110 and even has a similar entry-level price tag. On the Old Continent, the A110 sold 3,260 units compared to 2,596 for the Cayman. The Boxster – the twin brother of the Cayman – recorded 2,364 sales.
Demand for the A110 peaked in 2019 when 4,431 units were delivered to customers. After major declines in 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, 2022 proved solid with “stronger than expected” demand. “We will extend the life of the present one as long as possible to amortize the investment and continue its success for as long as we can,” added Rossi.
In October last year, Alpine unveiled the 2023 A110 R. This is a lighter, more hardcore version of the coupe that can sprint to 62 miles per hour (100 kilometers per hour) in just 3.9 seconds. It has a starting price of just over €100,000 (about $109,000 at current exchange rates) in France.
