Say Hello To Renault's Porsche Cayman Rival
These are the first official images of the new Alpine A110 - the Renault developed mid-engined sports car set to go head-to-head with the Porsche 718 Cayman by the end of the year. It won't be shown in the flesh until next week's Geneva Motor Show, but to whet the appetite the French brand has released two pictures showing the svelte two-seater in all its glory. It's the first model in the rebirth of the iconic Alpine sub-brand two decades after Renault killed it off and is expected to go on sale in the UK with a price tag of around 拢50,000. It might look somewhat familiar to you - that's because these images of the production-ready car show a design that is almost identical to the Alpine Vision concept teased just over a year ago at the Monte Carlo Rally. It's a knockout: Mike Tyson's Ferrari F50 supercar for sale Ray Massey gets behind the wheel of the Alfa Romeo Giulia Remember the Citroen 2CV?
Can you find cheaper car insurance? It even carries over some of the unique detail touches from the concept, like the French flag behind the door pillar, the Alpine logo on the front wings and the manufacturer name on the brake calipers. Renault hasn't released an official image of what the rear looks like, but based on the two pictures so far expect it to mirror the Alpine Vision design very closely indeed. With a turbocharged four-cylinder motor promised to sit behind the seats in the middle of the chassis, it should be capable of accelerating from 0 to 62mph in 4.5 seconds. A higher performance RenaultSport tuned version has also been rumoured. Based on the expected performance and price range, the Alpine A110 will go up against cars like Porsche's 718 Cayman and Audi's mega potent TTRS models. Throw into the mix the Alfa Romeo 4C and Jaguar F-Type and the competition looks increasingly stiff for the returning rally legend. Speaking last year when the concept was unveiled for the first time, Renault boss Carlos Ghosn said the new car would be the first of a new family with the Alpine sub-brand featuring a range of models in the future. 鈥橶e鈥檙e putting in place the first stepping stone of something that will be much bigger. We鈥檙e building a brand. We鈥檒l take it step by step. Many are expecting he Alpine A110 to be the star car of the 2017 Geneva Motor Show - what do you think? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below. The Alpine A110 is expected to cost in the region of 拢50,000.
The Honda鈥檚 composure is combined with a superb limited-slip differential, which improves traction as you come out of corners. It鈥檚 so effective at eliminating understeer that the car feels the most alert of this trio. Better still, the Civic Type R鈥檚 steering is more communicative than its rivals鈥? with the whole driving experience much more involving. That鈥檚 helped by the near-perfect manual gearshift, good brake feel and the ferocious 2.0-litre engine. It has more of an appetite for revs than its opponents in this test, but does without the pops and bangs of the German cars. Some people will find these contrived; others will feel they add character. However, even though the engine is the most powerful here and the Civic is the lightest car, it trailed its rivals in our acceleration tests. It was severely limited for off-the-line traction with only two powered wheels and no launch control. It would get closer to its competitors in the dry. But it鈥檚 more fun to engage with the Type R and maximise its performance.
As with the A 35 and Golf, you simply keep your foot to the floor and the electronics do all the work for you. Of course, it doesn鈥檛 have the four-wheel-drive security of its rivals, but the Honda feels more alive as a result. Even with its pumped-up looks, the Civic Type R is still very practical. It has the biggest boot of the three cars with the rear seats in place, at 420 litres, and there鈥檚 plenty of leg and headroom in the back. Storage space around the gearlever is limited, but there鈥檚 a deep central bin with a single cup-holder. It鈥檚 just a pity this makes changing gear tricky if your bottle or cup is tall. This is partly due to the strange dash design. For example, the USB charging points are tucked away out of sight. The Civic comes with autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning and traffic sign recognition as standard. Honda鈥檚 third-place finish in our Driver Power 2018 survey was strong, and shaded VW鈥檚 fifth spot.