Porsche Cayman killer? The second-generation Alpine A110 is electric, feather-light, hyper-powerful and coming to Australia

June 2, 2025June 2, 2025 John Mahoney 2622 Views 0 Comments A110, alpine, Cayman, porsche

Renault’s re-emerging performance brand Alpine has confirmed the next-generation replacement for the A110 sports car will come with almost twice as much power as the current car.

According to the French brand’s CEO Philippe Krief, speaking just moments after the global launch of the A390 SUV, the 2026 Alpine A110 EV (artist’s impression above) will come powered by an advanced dual-motor powertrain that will produce more than 500bhp (373kW)

The Alpine’s boss also confirmed the two-door will be as light as the current petrol-fed Porsche Cayman, with engineers targeting a kerb weight less than 1450kg.

Despite mirroring the dual-motor set-up in the A390, Krief says the A110 will have Porsche-beating handling courtesy of in-hub e-motors related to the ones fitted to the Renault 5 Turbo 3E.

The next A110 EV is also set to share the small hot hatch towering 400kW power output.

Built to replace the Alpine A110, that was sold in Australia between 2018 and 2021 before an Australian design rule change saw it culled, the new A110 EV and mid-size A390 SUV will reboot the Alpine brand Down Under.

Announcing that it will be offered with a range of power outputs, the rear-wheel drive dual-motor A110 EV will then be followed by an even more powerful triple-motor version that will provide for all-wheel drive for the first time.

Even though the all-new Alpine will offer performance in another league to the current car, the Alpine CEO says the battery-powered two-door coupe will not sacrifice range and will come with a “very high energy density” battery that will see it be capable of covering up to 600km on a single charge.

The reason for the big power boost? Krief is keen to replicate the current A110’s agility and performance. The quickest A110 R combines a featherweight 1083kg kerb weight with just 224kW of power but that still translates into a rapid 0-100km/h dash of 3.9 seconds.

Krief, who previously was the lead engineer of the Ferrari 458 and oversaw the development of the Alfa Romeo’s Giulia sedan and Stelvio SUV did not reveal how the Alpine will save weight.

However, he did reveal the new version would be a little bit bigger than the current coupe.

There was also some confusion over whether the new A110 EV would be based on Alpine’s bespoke APP platform or if the A110 will sit on its own architecture.

In order to sit the driver low in the chassis for an optimum driving position, Krief said that using a typical EV skateboard-style platform wasn’t an option as it would see the driver placed too high.

“We cannot put the battery in the floor because the car will be too high,” he said, adding: “So we will put the battery elsewhere and we’ve found some really nice battery installation.”

Instead, it’s been hotly tipped the batteries will be stacked mid-ship, with the A110 EV having similar weight-distribution to the current car, helping it share the same character traits and enhanced levels of agility with the combustion-powered Alpine coupe.

The Alpine boss didn’t discuss styling, but it’s thought the 2026 A110 EV will carry over striking design cues that include double headlamps, a sculptured body and a visor-shaped rear screen.

There’s no word yet if the enhanced performance and switch to EV will see the 2026 Alpine priced higher than the $87,340 plus on-roads that was charged for the cheapest A110 Pure when it last sold in Australia.