► One-make race series for Alpine A110
► Bespoke racing version of new sports car
► 12 races across Europe in 2018
If the regular road-going version of the upcoming Alpine A110 sports car looks like it’s going to be fun to drive, this should be a riot – here’s the new A110 Cup racing version, which will form a one-make series to promote Renault’s petite new sports car.
The new Alpine Europa Cup race series will take place over six rounds and 12 races across Europe in 2018, with 20 cars filling the field. It kicks off at Paul Ricard in France on 1 June, and the calendar includes a UK round at Silverstone.
A110 Cup cars will be designed, built and homologated by Signatech (one of the technical partners behind the Alpine LMP2 race team) and sold through them, too.
Alpine A110 Cup car: tech specs
The recipe is a good one:
- 266bhp to power 1050kg (same 1.8-litre four-cyl turbo as the production car, with an extra 18bhp and identical 236lb ft, bespoke racing ECU)
- Six-speed sequential paddle-shift gearbox and locking differential
- A 40mm lower ride height, and modified suspension geometry
- Full rollcage (not the easiest thing to integrate into the A110’s aluminium monocoque – steel plates are bolted, glued and further coated into the tub at the very beginning of the build process, to which the cage’s steel tubes are then mounted)
- New aluminium side members in the engine bay, raising the mounting points for the upper wishbones
- Modified front subframe and suspension mounts
- Adjustable Öhlins dampers
- Slick tyres for dry races, treaded for wet, by Michelin
- All the usual safety bits and pieces: safety seat, six-point harness, automatic fire extinguisher system, race-spec battery and fuel tank
- Adjustable ABS and traction control
- Moveable pedal box
The cars will be constructed at Renault Sport’s Dieppe factory.
How much does the A110 Cup car cost?
A nice, round €100,000, excluding taxes – although entrants will also need to stump up a further €20,000 in registration fees. Alpine suggests interested parties should sign up sooner rather than later, with only 20 A110 Cup racers planned for production for Season One.
The championship will be split into three driver categories: Junior (drivers under 25), Gentleman drivers (over 45) and an Overall points tally, for all drivers. Top drivers will share as much as €160,000 in prizes over the course of the season, Alpine says.
This isn’t the first time the sporty French brand has organised a one-make race series. The Alpine GTA was the star of the Europa Cup between 1985 and 1988.
Any more news about the road car?
First customer deliveries of the A110 production car will begin before the end of 2017. CAR’s editor Ben Miller has ridden in the new car alongside development driver Laurent Hurgon – read his first impressions here.
Find out everything you need to know about the new Alpine right here