Alpine’s great electrification

While we were strapping into the A110R, Alpine engineers were in Sweden testing a hot hatch. Due in 2024 and effectively a replacement for the now defunct Clio RS, this will be big news for a brand that’s never put an engine ahead of its driver.

Except Alpine’s hot hatch won’t have an engine at all because it marks the start of the French maker’s switch to electrification. It is followed by a car insiders describe as a ‘GT crossover’ in 2025.

Once those two radical departures enter the Alpine stable, the reinvention comes full circle in 2026 with an A110 replacement developed with Lotus. EVs bring the potential for both big weight and big power – both of which go against Alpine’s current thinking. Minimising weight is a given but just how much Alpine goes chasing power remains to be seen.

Surely those engineers currently in Sweden will at least aim to match class standards for performance. We’ll see soon enough.