Alpine unveils one-off A110 SportsX

RENAULT-OWNED sportscar marque Alpine has flexed its rich rally heritage muscles at the International Automobile Festival in Paris this week, debuting a one-off SportsX version of the A110.

A joint effort by Alpine’s design and engineering teams, the A110 SportsX – which is not slated for production at this stage – is a jacked-up, widened version of the regular A110 Pure, inspired by the 1973 Monte Carlo Rally-winning A110 and other homologated specials.

Riding 60mm higher than its donor car, the SportsX’s body has been widened by 80mm and still houses the familiar 1.8-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine behind the cabin, powering the rear wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.

Finished in a fetching matte white with black bonnet and roof, the one-off special brandishes a unique, more rugged-looking front bumper with redesigned air intakes flanking the lower, blackened grille.

A unique front splitter can also be seen poking out from under the resculpted chin, while a custom ski rack is fastened to the back half of the swooping roofline in a nod to both the car’s model name and history.

Rally-style tape on the front foglights complete the look.

Renault says the A110 SportsX “remains faithful to Alpine’s DNA: lightness and agility for driving pleasure”.

“This unique model is not available for sale,” the company said in a statement.

Last year Alpine managed to shift 35 A110s, three more than in 2018 (32). It outsold the Alfa Romeo 4C (29) but fell well short of the Porsche Cayman (156) in the $80,000+ sportscar segment.