PARIS — Alpine plans to “maximize” the lifespan of the A110 sports activities coupe, doubtlessly till the tip of 2026, forward of the introduction of a full-electric successor, CEO Laurent Rossi mentioned.

The A110 has been in manufacturing since 2017, when it was launched because the Renault Group sports-car model’s solely mannequin.

“We’re in yr 5 of the undertaking, usually you see a decline, however we’re growing gross sales,” Rossi instructed journalists on Wednesday.

A110 gross sales have been up 33 p.c in 2022 to three,546, largely in Europe, and a lot of the 2023 manufacturing has already been spoken for, Renault mentioned.

“We are going to prolong the life of the present one so long as attainable to amortize the funding and trip on its success so long as we will,” Rossi mentioned.

Gross sales have been “stronger than anticipated,” even beneath earlier Renault management that accredited the undertaking within the mid-2010s, he mentioned.

Quantity was highest in 2019 at 4,431 however slumped badly in the course of the pandemic in 2020 and 2021. 

Learn extra: Alpine CEO says U.S. is vital to gross sales, income targets

The fundamental A110 has solely barely modified since its launch, though its 1.8-liter 4-cylinder engine has gained extra energy. There at the moment are 4 variations: The bottom A110 has 252 hp; the A110 GT, S and R variations have 300 hp. Costs vary from 62,500 euros to 105,000 euros for the light-weight R variant. 

Its major competitor is the Porsche 718 Cayman, which begins at about 61,000 euros in France. The A110 outsold the Cayman in Europe, 3,260 items to 2,596 items, in 2022, in line with figures from Dataforce. The convertible model of the Cayman, the Boxster, registered 2,364 gross sales. 

The A110 is constructed at Renault’s manufacturing facility in Dieppe, which has a capability of 6,000 automobiles a yr. The A110 has an extruded and solid aluminum construction, and many of the attachment factors are bonded or riveted fairly than welded, to avoid wasting weight.  

Alpine and Renault have mentioned little in regards to the A110’s successor, which is predicted to be developed with Lotus Automobiles. Lotus is a part of the Geely group, which has a producing partnership with Renault in South Korea and can construct internal-combustion drivetrains with Renault in a brand new entity to be named Horse.

Rossi mentioned it could be launched “someplace in 2026,” however that it was largely depending on how lengthy the present mannequin might be bought.

That’s tied to how the approaching Euro 7 air pollution and GSR2 security rules play out, particularly close to “small batch” constructors like Alpine, he mentioned. The A110 has a nonhybrid gasoline engine, which requires particulate filters and different air pollution controls. 

In July 2022 Alpine revealed the E-Ternite (pronounced “Eternity”) idea, a full-electric model of the present A110 that Rossi mentioned was a “skunk works” undertaking to arrange for Alpine’s coming EV-only lineup. “We have to show ourselves by way of making sporty electrical automobiles,” he mentioned, “and one of the best ways is to make use of the automobile we all know, the references we all know, by way of efficiency, agility and dealing with.”

The automobile had a 0-100 kph (0-62 mph) time of 4.5 seconds, with a weight penalty of about 250 kg (550 kilos) over the gasoline-engine A110. Vary was 420 km (260 miles).

There aren’t any plans to provide the E-Ternite, he mentioned, as a result of “it would not make sense within the face of the long run A110.”