The magic of the Alpine A110: why it’s the perfect driver’s car for the UK

What makes a real driver's car

In this ancient, beautiful landscape, we tackle some of the most demanding roads in the UK in an Alpine A110 to find out

This is a proper car. This is what driving is all about

I think the history of Alpine is a fascinating one

Begum in the mid-50s by Jean Redelli. He was a very interesting character, a very clever man

The original A110 called Berlinet, that appeared in the early 60s, and the blueprint of that car is very

very similar really to the current car. It was a lightweight car, it was rear-engined, small four-cylinder

engine, performance through aerodynamics and that weight figure. That car was in production

for a very long time. I mean, it went right through to the late 1970s. It's one of those classic

cars have come about where they kind of take part in all sorts of different motorsports, whether

it's clubmen's, whether it's top-level international events. It's just one of those cars. Perhaps the

finest hour of the original A-110 was its rallying career, most famously when it won the

1973 World Championship. That's notable, apart from anything else, because it was the very first

World Rally Championship season. Fast forward many years, Renaud had bought the company in the early

70s, Alpine are now the sporting arm of Renault. At the time it was Renault Sport that made that whole

wonderful series of hot hatches that became Evo favourites over many years. Now that team know

how to make a car handle. Those cars have always worked really well in the UK. So fast forward to

the A10 project, I think that had to form a significant part of the trajectory that the car went

down in terms of development. Decisions were made to really set the car up to work on these roads

And I think you end up with a unique car because I just just can't think of another car

bar perhaps maybe an old Lotus that kind of thing that really has that same approach to dynamics

So why have we celebrated this wonderful little car so much over recent years

Well, you have to start with the lightweight. Everything comes back to that just over 1,100 kilos, curb weight

Because, as face it, the world's best automotive engineers, they can almost make cars walk on water

They can take a massive two-point-something-ton SUV and turn it into a performance car

and it can do things which you just never would have expected it to be able to do

Great, undisputed. However, to do that requires these days your rear-wheel steering and your adaptive and damping and all of that

And even then, don't ever be misled or confused by the fact that they will feel like a genuine

in lightweight sports car because they just won't. There is no substitute for a lightweight car

The way this A110 just dances through this road is absolute magic

And you cannot replicate that feeling with a heavy car. This car doesn't need all that tech

It doesn't need rear-wheel steering because it's light. It's genuinely light. And that weight figure isn't at the expense of any sort of comfort

because this is a super usable car. So we bought the A110 here because I think it's a unique test

for any performance car, any sports car. And also when you factor in the weather as well

it's something completely different to taking a car to a circuit, for example

There you want a car that's stiff, it doesn't roll. And although this is, I think you can say, a rather extreme case

It's like an extreme version of what most British B-roads are like

And here you really need a car above everything else that can breathe with the road

It has to have the damping inbuilt to it to cope with those surfaces

We love the way it drives. This doesn't need really firm suspension

It doesn't need to keep its mass in charge. to keep its mass in check because it has not a lot of mass to keep in check

That's the point. So you can have this relaxed damping this softer ride And don be confused that doesn make it any less capable or it doesn make it any slower down the road On our horrible pothold cambered funny crowned weird roads in the UK there are sort of roads where you can enjoy your driving

You need a car that works with the, that breathes with them. And this car does that

Come up to this left hand there. It's an S. Thread it through

And again, Confluent Croftle. That is just so rewarding

This is such a demanding road. It just takes it in its stride

That's the thing, it just takes it in its stride. So the question of the power truck

with the A-110 is a very interesting one. The engine, well, we know that from the McGann-Renosport

Before, it's an entirely capable engine. Makes the numbers. Sounds pretty good for a four-cylinder turbo

No problems there. I think if you look at the bigger picture of the car's relevance in terms of the modern performance car world

and our roads, it's an entirely relevant car. It's 250 odd horsepower, 249 brake horsepower, but you can't look at that number without looking at the most important part of the car, power to wait, talk to wait

What can you really enjoy on the public roads in this country? We all know it's harder than ever to drive for fun, to drive for enjoyment in the UK, especially if you're near the built-up cities in this country

For me, driving on a road is about enjoying the car. feeling what the car's telling you, but also being able to, to a certain extent, feel the car working

And I think the big problem with all of these extremely capable, clever modern supercars is that

you're only accessing about 5% of what they can do. You don't get that full ability of the car if you're just driving at normal speeds

You're not really doing anything. You're just piloting it. So flip to the A110 and it's completely the opposite

And that's why, genuinely, I think it rewards so much more than a car with three times the horsepower

Now of course the basic A has about 250 horsepower and we used to much bigger numbers these days But the essence of this car is not about raw power

The engine is responsive, doesn't really have any turbo lag. It makes a nice noise, to be honest

I like that noise. For me, the best thing about this car is when you've got a winding road that stretches out in front of you and you can just place the car where you want and flow down the road

road. It's about flow. That's where this car excels. The brakes are great, but when you hardly

have to use them, then you know you're really in the zone with the A110. You can just get

it into this really lovely rhythm where you're making small movements and you're feeling

the car, move, tuck in, slightly go neutral. It's such a rewarding driving experience

For me, the A110 is going to be a future classic. I think it has all the ingredients necessary to be that car

It's available in relatively small numbers. It's a unique character. It's an award-winning driver's car

It's got everything it needs. And as we're at this real kind of crossing the road point with cars and the switch to EV, I think

I think it stands out as one of the last of the great internal combustion engineed driver's cars

This is the kind of driving I like

I'm not looking for a dragster. I don't need 800 horsepower and all that tech

This is a proper car. This is what driving is all about

I honestly believe that