Alpine's Delightful Mid-Engined A110 Will Be Dead in 12 Months
It's a sad day for fans of Gallic speed machines, as Alpine has just announced the beginning of the end for its beloved A110 mid-engine sports car. In coordination with the launch of a new special edition, the Renault performance division says customers officially have 12 months left to order a new A110 if they want one.
The new model is the A110 R 70, a special A110 R that's limited to 770 units and was created to celebrate Alpine's 70th anniversary in 2025. 'To mark the occasion, our iconic A110 is available as an exceptional limited edition, the A110 R 70,' Alpine CEO Philippe Krief said. 'It is part of the new A110 range, which will be available for the next 12 months before passing the baton to the future electric A110.'
So there's the answer to your next question; the A110 will indeed transition to being fully electric for its next generation, so get your ICE fix now. The A110 R 70 is a great way to do just that, as it's one of the most extreme versions of the car that Alpine has offered, packing more power, a stiffer suspension, Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires and an Akropovic exhaust among other enhancements to improve performance above the S. Appearance changes for the '70' take shape in 70th anniversary logos on the wheel arches, door sills, headrests, an interior plaque and a monogram of the French flag on the pillar.
210 cars of the total will take things even further. Designated the 'Tricolour Edition' and pictured at the top of this post, there will be 70 each in Bleu Caddy, Glacier Blanc and Rouge Sismique. These 210 cars will have the unique touch of bearing the 70th anniversary logo on the roof. They'll also be given a color-matching Sabelt-upholstered interior (below) and color-matched rim around the 18-inch wheels.
The final year of production sees a slight change in the normal models for sale, too, as Alpine merges the GT and S trims into a single 'GTS' trim. It's meant to combine the sportier chassis of the S with the GT's more roadgoing equipment. You can spec the GTS aero kit, too, which nets a bunch of aero from the A110 R. Even the Cup 2 tires can be had, bringing the GTS closer to R levels of performance.
We'll be sad to see the A110 go, even though it was never sold in America. Alpine has promised the A110's electric successor will be sold here, but there will be a wait, with the latest forecast calling for Alpine's entrance to the U.S. market coming in 2027 at the earliest.
You Might Also Like
You Need a Torque Wrench in Your Toolbox
Tested: Best Car Interior Cleaners
The Man Who Signs Every Car
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Forbes
2 days ago
- Forbes
H. Moser & Cie's F1 Set Latest In The Hot World Of Race Watches
H. Moser & Cie's Streamliner Drivers Edition set. Formula 1 racing is hotter than tennis and golf these days, certainly in terms of watch sponsorships. Several brands are getting in on the action by sponsoring teams, race organizations, and individual races and, naturally, they are creating some great limited-edition watches to consolidate the connection. The fanbase for F1 is growing to include women and young people, thanks partly to Netflix's documentary series Formula 1: Drive to Survive, along with the upcoming movie F1, starring Brad Pitt. The H. Moser & Cie Streamliner Alpine Drivers Edition. One of the most recent watch collaborations to appear on the scene is a pair of racing models from H. Moser & Cie. The brand sponsors the BWT Alpine F1 team, which competes next on the track at the Canadian F1 Grand Prix in Montreal, June 13-14. The Streamliner model is the focus of limited editions associated with the team and the two newest come in a boxed set. The Streamliner Alpine Drivers Edition is a skeletonized version of the sophisticated chronograph developed by Moser's partner, high-end movement maker Agenhor. The V-shaped bridges evoke the triangulated suspensions of single-seater cars, the rotor (which you can see on the dial side) echoes the lines of an Alpine A110 wheel rim, and the central bridge is shaped like a driver's helmet. The blue and white colour codes evoke speed and Alpine's signature identity. It's an easy-to-read format, with no subdials but a central minute and seconds display, and a sophisticated flyback function. The case is steel with blue PVD treatment. The H. Moser & Cie Streamliner Alpine Mechanics Edition. The Streamliner Alpine Mechanics Edition is a smartwatch developed in close collaboration with the Alpine teams. Functions include a custom F1 mode, with countdown to the start and team alerts of the key moments for the Formula 1 season's races. It also has GMT, split seconds-chronograph and perpetual calendar functions. The two watches are themselves a team, as they are being sold together as a set for $70,000 in a presentation case (200 sets). Edouard Meylan, CEO of H. Moser & Cie, describes the pair as 'a genuine, in-depth collaboration based on engineering considerations and not just marketing factors.' TAG Heuer Formula 1 Solargraph Other racing themed watches to appear recently include the TAG Heuer Formula 1 Solargraph. It is one of several limited editions celebrating this year's commencement of TAG Heuer's F1 Sponsorship and Official Timer status, previously held by Rolex. CHF 1,750 (about $2,126) IWC Ingenieur SL Reference 1832 IWC made the watch that Brad Pitt wears in Apple TV's forthcoming F1, due in June. Pitt wears a prop watch based on the Ingenieur SL Reference 1832, which Pitt designed in a three-way collaboration with IWC and Cloister Watch Company, a design studio in New York City. $12,900 Richard Mille RM 43-01 Tourbillon Split-Seconds Chronograph Ferrari Finally, Richard Mille has long sponsored McLaren and Ferrari F1 teams, with several special editions designed for drivers, teams or races. The most recent is the RM 43-01 Tourbillon Split-Seconds Chronograph Ferrari. 75 pieces in microblasted titanium ($1,300,000) and 75 in Carbon TPT ($1,535,000). Design details were inspired by Ferrari engine blocks and crank cases.
New York Times
2 days ago
- New York Times
Fernando Alonso is point-less so far in F1 2025. But he isn't thinking of retirement yet
BARCELONA, Spain — Two years ago, Fernando Alonso arrived in Barcelona for his home Formula One race, the Spanish Grand Prix, renewed. His decision to leave Alpine for Aston Martin for 2023 was inspired — vaulting him from midfield mediocrity to podium contention once again. Only one botched pit call stopped him winning that year in Monaco. Scoring that elusive 33rd F1 win, a decade after his 32nd, seemed within reach. Advertisement Alonso returned to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya this week still stuck on 32 wins, having not stood on the F1 podium since November 2023. In fact, he's failed to score a point at all so far this year, making him one of just four drivers still on zero in 2025. The others? Axed Alpine driver Jack Doohan, his replacement Franco Colapinto, and Sauber rookie Gabriel Bortoleto. At 43, this might look like a driver nearing the twilight of his career; the undeniable talent behind the wheel that powered him to two world titles, and within a handful of points of another three, finally starting to wane. Yet Alonso does not see it that way at all. Instead, he points to the tricky position Aston finds itself in after regressing into the midfield and struggling to contend for regular points. 'We understand the situation,' Alonso said in a news conference on Thursday ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix. 'We understand where we are in 2025, and whatever (car development) we bring to the track will just be a minimum change in terms of positions and finishing order.' It hasn't all been doom and gloom for Alonso so far this year. He has outqualified teammate Lance Stroll for all eight races so far — by an average of 0.382 seconds (although Stroll has returned all 14 of Aston Martin's points). Alonso also has three 11th-place finishes, one spot outside the points each time. In none of the attrition-filled races has he been the beneficiary sliding up to score. Aston's recent car updates that arrived at Imola appear to have given it a performance step. Alonso and Stroll both reached Q3 there — in part thanks to deploying an alternative tire strategy — only for Alonso to be left fuming at his misfortune in the race that followed. This was over the timing of a safety car period that dropped him out of the points. Then, when he was running a comfortable sixth in Monaco, his engine failed. Advertisement Curiously, Alonso seemed at peace with the prospect of failing to score any points at all this season when speaking at Imola, even if F1's competitive picture currently looks similar to arguably the lowest point of his F1 career — with McLaren in 2017, when he also had just two points on the board after eight races. It's only the third season in Alonso's long F1 career that he is without points after eight rounds. The others being 2001 — his rookie campaign, when he raced for the backmarker Minardi team — and 2015, when he rejoined what was then a badly struggling Honda-powered McLaren. Those struggles with Mclaren prompted Alonso to explore other racing categories, making appearances at the Indianapolis 500 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans before taking two years out of F1 altogether. Looking back on that period at Imola, Alonso said he had been 'tired of being here and being just a secondary actor' in F1. He felt then he was 'not really a protagonist in 2016, '17, '18, and wanted to try something different outside F1.' So, what's different for Alonso now? He's again not a protagonist in the battle at the front of the field, limited by the capabilities of his car. The podium visits that returned through 2023 are now far in his rear-view mirror. Yet, he feels nothing like he did when he was eying an F1 sabbatical at McLaren. One factor at play is that Alonso is at a very different stage of his career. When he rejoined McLaren at 33, he was still very much in the prime years of his F1 time, with zero thought about when his career might end. He also hadn't gotten the chance to explore those other categories, an itch long since scratched through his forays at Indianapolis and Le Mans. Alonso won the latter twice and proved beyond doubt he is one of racing's all-time greats. But the bigger element for Alonso right now is the promise he still sees in the project Aston is building. From the moment his deal was signed in secrecy in the team's motorhome at the 2022 Hungarian Grand Prix, just days after Sebastian Vettel announced his plan to retire from F1 and the squad, Alonso has been all-in on the vision projected by billionaire team owner Lawrence Stroll. Advertisement With a state-of-the-art new factory and a Honda works engine supply arriving from 2026, the feeling has long been that Aston's foundations are coming together. And so Alonso is content to spend 2025 in a holding pattern, waiting to see if the 2026 Aston car design provides the step forward he desires. Tying into this potential is the arrival of Adrian Newey, the most successful car designer in F1 history, who started work with Aston in March after 19 years at Red Bull. Alonso and Newey always held a curiosity for working together, and came close in the past when Red Bull courted Alonso, while Ferrari made a move for Newey when Alonso was racing in red. Both in different career chapters, they've now realized that dream, which serves as a source of motivation to Alonso. Newey spent his first race on-site with Aston last weekend in Monaco, giving him a chance to see up close how his latest F1 team operates. Alonso said on Thursday in Barcelona that his presence was 'special' and could help lift the team. But it also leaves nowhere to hide. Newey has already publicly revealed there are correlation problems facing Aston's new wind tunnel, telling reporters in Monaco that 'some of our tools are weak.' It's a forthrightness Alonso has welcomed. 'The level of the team was higher thanks to his presence because everyone was more focused, (looking) more into the details of the car,' Alonso said. 'People that were talking in the meeting knew that they could not say anything too far from the truth, because he would spot it.' Aston has been clear it will keep Newey focused on the car design plans needed for the coming major 2026 rule changes, given the gains it could make with its current won't be of huge benefit in the long-run. Alonso is fully onboard, acknowledging that the performance of next year's car may well decide how his F1 career ends. 'I need to see how next year starts and how motivated I am,' Alonso said. 'Every year, there is a different mood (going) into the season. There is a different feeling on how you perform, how competitive you feel yourself, how motivated you are to keep your fitness at the high level. Personal situation, family situation — all these things play a role in some important decisions in life.' Alonso remains one of the most physically dedicated drivers. He made significant adjustments to factors including his diet and sleeping patterns as he got older. He's also raised concerns over the demands of F1's calendar length in recent years, as it has grown to 24 rounds that include six sprints. Advertisement The call to hang up his helmet is going to be momentous, whenever it arrives. Alonso was conscious of this when speaking on Thursday in Spain. 'For 40 years, I have had a steering wheel in my hands, and I know that one day I will have to stop,' Alonso said. 'And that's an important decision that I will think (about) carefully. I did stop Formula One already once in 2018 and I came back because I needed it. So, the next one that I take has to be 100 percent sure.' But right now, even while battling down the order and failing to score points, the lure of 2026 and Aston's potential future results, particularly with Newey on board, continue to spur Alonso on. He has a long-term agreement in place with the team that will go beyond his time racing on track, making him eager to invest heavily into the project. He still needs F1. 'You need to feel when it's time and I don't feel it yet,' Alonso said. 'I jump in the car and on Sunday, (when) I'm on the grid, I'm just so happy to be there — motivated and performing well.' Neither the stopwatch nor Alonso's body are telling him his choice could be close. 'When I finish the race on Sunday, even if the results are not nice at the moment, I'm so motivated to go to the next race and try to overcome the bad race and have a better one,' Alonso said. 'All these kinds of things are very alive now. But there is no guarantee that this will be forever.' (Top image: Clive Rose / Getty Images)
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Exclusive-Under US pressure, Liechtenstein seeks fix for stranded Russian wealth
By John O'Donnell and Oliver Hirt VADUZ, Liechtenstein (Reuters) -Liechtenstein is examining tightening control of scores of Russian-linked trusts abandoned by their managers under pressure from Washington, according to several people familiar with the matter. The country, one of the world's smallest and richest, is home to thousands of low-tax trusts, hundreds of which have links to Russians, two of the people with direct knowledge of the matter said, putting it in the crosshairs of Western efforts to sanction Moscow. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. Treasury has sanctioned several individuals and trusts in Liechtenstein it said were linked to Russian oligarchs, including Vladimir Potanin, and a long-time ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Gennady Timchenko. The U.S. Treasury had no immediate comment. Potanin's Interros holding company did not respond to a request for comment, while Timchenko could not be reached. That sanctioning has prompted other directors fearing such punishment to quit hundreds of Russian-linked trusts, according to several people familiar with the matter, exposing a far wider problem with Russian money in the tiny country with a population of about 40,000. The episode, in a sleepy Alpine enclave ruled by a billionaire royal family, also shows how deep and opaque Russia's business ties to Europe remain more than three years after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It is a setback for the microstate that had long sought to shed its image as a safe haven for foreign wealth. The mass resignations have put scores of trusts in limbo, essentially freezing swathes of Russian wealth. The trusts are the linchpin for fortunes, including yachts or property, that are scattered around the globe. Their suspension puts that property beyond reach, a further potential lever over Russia, amid attempts by U.S. President Donald Trump to strike a peace deal. Reuters has spoken to several people with direct knowledge of these events, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter. They outlined how a push by Washington had led scores of directors to quit trusts with links to Russia and how the government was scrambling to resolve the crisis. Liechtenstein's newly elected government is seeking to fix the issue, according to people familiar with the matter, underscoring the continued pressure from Washington over Russia sanctions, despite U.S. President Donald Trump's earlier suggestions he could ease them. Liechtenstein also sees its handling of sanctions enforcement as something that could influence its government's efforts to lower newly imposed U.S. tariffs on exports, said one person with direct knowledge of the discussions. A Liechtenstein government official said 475 trusts were affected by the defections, although added that not all were linked to Russians or sanctioned individuals. That official said Liechtenstein's justice department was seeking to install new managers to 350 trusts, while 40 were being liquidated and unsuccessful attempts had been made to appoint a liquidator to further 85 trusts. This episode strikes at the trust industry, a critical pillar of Liechtenstein's roughly 770 billion franc ($930 billion) financial centre that underpins the country's economy. Local banks, the government official said, were also affected, without elaborating. Banks are particularly vulnerable because the United States has the power to throttle them by cutting off their access to the dollar, threatening a wider crisis. The episode has confronted the country with its biggest crisis since 2008, when leaked customer data at LGT Bank, owned by the country's princely family, exposed widespread tax evasion. The government is now examining options to centralise the management of the deserted trusts under its watch and tightening supervision of trusts. The Liechtenstein official also said the country's authorities were in contact with their international counterparts and that no trust assets would be released to sanctioned individuals. Liechtenstein, sandwiched between Switzerland and Austria, is dominated by its royal family, whose castle towers over the parliament. It is tied closely to Switzerland, using its franc currency, but also enjoys freedom to do business in the European Union's single market. The country, criticised for hiding the fortunes of the wealthy in the past, had reformed and joined the International Monetary Fund. Once home to roughly 80,000 tax trusts, it now hosts about 20,000, said two people familiar with the matter - equivalent to roughly one trust for two residents. Pressure on Liechtenstein follows a similar push against neighbouring Austria and Switzerland. ($1 = 0.8273 Swiss francs) (Additional reporting by Reuters Moscow bureau, editing by Elisa Martinuzzi and Tomasz Janowski)
