Alpine is truly tapping into the potential of the A110's chassis with the new R - read our road and track review from benbarrycars right here
The Alpine A110R is billed as the ultimate version of the French sports car maker’s mid-engined A110, a hardcore range-topper that’s honed for the racetrack but still useable on the road – it’s Alpine’s answer to the Porsche Cayman GT4 in philosophy, if quite a different proposition in reality. It’s also a very different take on the original A110, which went against current trends with its soft suspension, liberal body roll and modest grip.
Spring rates are 10 per cent stiffer all-round, anti-roll bar stiffness is up 10 per cent front, 25 per cent rear, and the suspension is 10mm lower than the A110R for road use, but can be lowered by a further 10mm for track use if you break out the spanners. Aerodynamics are said to be tweaked with help from the F1 team – rear downforce rises by 29kg versus the S but drops by 30kg at the front for a more stable balance.
It feels perfectly liveable on the smoother tarmac and higher speeds of the Spanish motorway network, though, plus the gurgly bass of the engine and pleasingly direct gear shifts are rousing rather than rowdy, and tyre noise is far from intrusive. There’s plenty of padding and under-thigh support in these otherwise bare-bones carbon Sabelt seats too – I’d want harness pads but I’d happily do a long-distance road trip on this evidence .
While the R’s mid-engined dynamics are still exploitable, there’s a much more neutral balance on the road to pretty quickly damp things down – more so than both the standard car and S. Performance might be unchanged versus the S, but tap into it all over twistier stuff and very little will touch this modestly powerful French sports car.Jarama really confirmed what we learned on the road, in terms of body control and that much more planted feeling.
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