Do lightweight sports cars really have a place in the electric era? Alpine sure thinks so...
When Alpine announced that the follow-up to the A110 would ditch its 1.8-litre turbo four-pot in favour of an electric motor, we feared the worst. After all, how could one of the last bastions of lightweight performance maintain its signature agility when encumbered by bulky batteries? Happily, our worries were allayed somewhat by the A110 E-ternité concept.
Weight, or a lack of it, is evidently high on the priority list. We already knew that the A110 E-ternité would be heavier than the combustion car, with engineers quoting 1,378kg during our visit, but it’s how the firm has kept the kerbweight down – and evenly distributed – that really impresses.
Sounds great, right? Well, the problem with stuffing the battery in the cavities left by ripping out the engine and its ancillaries, rather the hiding under the floor, means the centre of gravity is slightly higher than it might otherwise be. This requires a slightly stiffer setup, which comes courtesy of new Ohlins dampers and beefier anti-roll bars.
Then there’s the range. Alpine claims the E-ternité is rated at 261 miles combined under WLTP, which should be fine for road use yet completely useless on a track day, as you’d sap the battery of all its juice in just 15 minutes. That’s not Alpine’s fault; that’s just the way batteries work. And while you might devour a full tank of fuel in the blink of an eye, most circuits have pumps on site so you can quickly fill up and get back to the action.
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