Alpine A110 R Ultime is faster than a 991 Turbo S at the Nürburgring
The most focussed A110 yet lowers the Nordschleife time of the A110 R by 20 seconds, going some way to justifying its expected £180,000 price tag
The ultimate incarnation of Alpine’s diminutive two-seater sports car, the A110 R Ultime, is here to send off what has become one of our favourite sports cars of the last decade with a bang. We know it’s expensive, we know it’s extreme and now we know it’s fast. Alpine has confirmed it’ll lap the Nürburgring Nordschleife ‘20 seconds faster’ than the standard A110 R. That makes the Alpine A110 Ultime a 7min15sec car, seemingly corroborating fans who timed prototypes at under 7min20sec.
The little Alpine has always been a power-to-weight champion and punched above its weight for driving thrills. A time around the ‘Ring that bests the BMW M4 CSL and 991 Porsche 911 Turbo S, is just five seconds off a Mercedes-AMG GT R and just two seconds off Jorg Bergmeister in a Porsche Carrera GT on its new Michelin tyres, shows the Ultime doubles down on that billing.
The Ultime then, really does promise to be Dieppe’s true answer to the Porsche Cayman GT4 RS – the result of extensive iterative development and learnings from the GT4 race programme.
The 1.8-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine gets a new turbo that features both a new turbine and compressor wheel resulting in a power increase to 345bhp, a near 50bhp increase on the R and 100bhp uplift over the entry level A110. Torque is also increased by 59lb ft to 310lb ft, up from the R’s 251lb ft. The ‘DW6’ dual-clutch six-speed gearbox has been upgraded to manage the increased torque load, although at the time of writing Alpine hadn’t elaborated how it differs over the transmission installed in the R. A titanium Akrapovic exhaust is also standard.
Alpine hasn’t quoted a weight for the A110 R Ultime, but expect a sub 1100kg kerb weight as it benefits from the R’s carbon fibre body panels and other weight saving measures.
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Beneath the Ultime’s aero-enhanced body – it wears the same carbon fibre add-ons as the R but with a pair of cannards on the front corners with downforce claimed to be increased by 160kg at the car’s 177mph top speed – are a set of adjustable Ohlins dampers replacing the R’s ZF units, AP Racing discs and high-performance brake pads replacing the Brembo brakes fitted to the R and there’s improved braking cooling, too. 18 and 19-inch forged wheels are fitted front to rear with Michelin’s Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyre the standard fitment.
“La Bleue” trim – seen on the car at its reveal in Paris last year – costs a mind boggling €,330,000 including taxes, although this does include a Peugeot Sport inspired two-tone paint job. The ‘regular’ Ultime costs from €265,000 including VAT in France with UK prices yet to be confirmed.
That mighty price tag is down to France’s stringent emission regulations that results in double-digit percentage taxes applied to new cars producing higher levels of CO2 and those with more horsepower, something the A110 R Ultime produces more of both.
As is the modern way the A110 R Ultime can be personalised in numerous ways, specifically around colours and trim with 27 exterior colours on offer along with the option to have the carbon bonnet painted. There are also four Alcantara colours for the interior to pick from.
