Alpine's CEO isn't afraid the A110 EV will fail: ‘We’re not Porsche'
Philippe Krief was bullish in his confidence about how the A110 EV will be received and dismissed the idea of Alpine’s being a direct fight with Porsche
This past weekend was a big moment for Alpine. Introduced at the Goodwood Festival of Speed was a prototype electric A110, beginning the ramp-up to the hotly anticipated third-generation sports car’s introduction next year. Alpine CEO Phillippe Krief was on-site to introduce the car and we stole some time ahead of the show to get an insight into his vision for Alpine. The TLDR? He and his company are not in the business of conquering Porsche and as such, he doesn’t feel like Alpine faces the same stratospheric challenges as the premium German titan.
‘We are more on the Ferrari side than the Porsche side in terms of volume,’ Krief said, when challenged about whether Dieppe could possibly take on Stuttgart. ‘We are not Ferrari and of course we are not Porsche. But I would say we aim to be more niche than what Porsche is. We aim to preserve the exclusivity and profitability for our models.’
‘We are not Porsche’ resonates and is important to remember about Alpine. Its A110 has always been spoken about as a foil for the Cayman, but it’s also always been a very different car; that’s been its very strength, in fact. Alpine’s lineup is very different to Porsche, its position and indeed, its ambitions. Porsche does not sell a hot hatchback, for instance. In this arena, Alpine has its own successes to celebrate and challenges to contend with.
‘With A290 customers, 80 per cent are both new to us and new to the Renault group. We think A390 will do the same thing. It’s been a real conquest car. We’ve had success in the UK, with 30 per cent of A290 sales being in the UK; a land of hot hatch and car lovers. We now need to grow more in Germany, Italy and Spain.’
The biggest challenge Alpine faces is brand awareness, both in general but specifically among female buyers. Far from Porsche, Krief has the electric Mini in his sights and specifically, the fact that 70 per cent of its sales volume is to women. He sees the new Gucci partnership in F1 as a potential driver of success here in the future.
‘Mini is doing in electric, about 70 per cent women. We are about 20-25 per cent women, so there’s huge potential there. We think there are ways – with the Gucci partnership too – that we can attract female customers better than right now.’
As such, Krief seems done for now with models that share a Renault underpinning, in the ‘lifestyle’ area of Alpine’s volume triangle, for at least another five years. ‘We launched the A290 and A390, to add new customers and increase awareness of the brand, to put cars in the street. Now we are focusing on the new A110 and the new platform is not just for one shot like it was last time, but for some other cars.’
The new electric A110 and the Alpine Performance Platform that underpins it could well be the biggest story of 2027. Follow the link below to our in-depth explainer on everything we know about that car but the headlines are thus: It will be more versatile, with an electric powertrain but allowances in its construction for combustion, and a variety of variants, from high-end specials, to cabriolets and four-seaters.
This diversification – but not necessarily adding combustion for sure – as well as being sure that it is an authentic, entertaining and performant sports car, is what Krief believes will be the key to success for the new A110. He is not worried about volumes for the A110 and is not positioning the combustion readiness of the platform as a de-risking strategy, akin to Porsche’s backpivot and re-engineering of the next 718 Cayman and Boxster.
‘So, first of all, it has to be a sports car. So it has to be performant and fun to drive, extremely fun to drive. We have also made a huge step regarding the cockpit, to be timeless and we want to be extremely sporty and bespoke, in terms of personalisation.'
‘We are the first in the group to go cell-to-pack with next-generation cells, we are a full aluminium chassis and we are targeting to be with the same weight as the best ICE car – around 1500kg. We also sized everything, especially the battery, to allow at least 20 minutes of track driving at full performance. This will make the car at least as good, and I believe even better, than the last A110.
‘By Q4 2026, we will know. We will be ready to push the button on ICE. I don't know if were are going to push the button because we need to understand the second aspect, the markets. Because for us it's not like Porsche, this is not a de-risking plan. It's an opportunity. We’re not afraid to fail in terms of the EV. Our ambitions in terms of volume are so limited, I’m not afraid about that. I’m focused on doing a perfect sports car and I’m sure it’ll find its place. Then after, we can have an evolution and multi-energy.’
We’ll learn more about the next A110’s sound and design at the Paris Motor Show in October, with a first look at its interior coming early next year ahead of its full reveal. Bullish confidence about the EV’s performance isn’t surprising, but the fearlessness about how the market will receive it? That’s an eyebrow-raiser. The proof will be in the pudding.
