Variety is good, whether you’re talking about the salad bar or when you’re choosing your next sports car.
It used to be the case, that when you were talking about buying a Porsche Cayman (or indeed a Boxster) that you would have had plenty of alternatives, although none would have hailed from the land of the Bourgogne wine – France has not been synonymous with sports cars for a long time, although they have produced some interesting sporting cars - like the Venturi Atlantique we covered this year – or the Alpine cars from the 70s to the 90s.
Luckily, France produced the goods in 2017 in the form of an all-new sports car under the Alpine umbrella, and it instantly made waves for all the right reasons, offering something much more modern and competitive, and we’re here to see why it might be the car to conquer the Porsche Cayman.
Pure French Elegance
Emerging four years ago and looking like a sharp version of the original A110 from the 1960s, the A110 hedged its bets on a lightweight body, petite turbocharged engine, quirky interior, and smart styling with more than a couple of cues from its namesake.
Weighing in at 2,400lbs and with 250-290 hp, the Alpine is, like its sixty’s predecessor rear-wheel drive - also this time it is mid-engined, instead of purely rear-engined like a Porsche 911.
The S model released in 2017 was the one with more power but retained the same 236 lb-ft of torque. It does have a stiffer, lower chassis though, and carbon-ceramic brakes. Tasty.
Here power is sent through a dual-clutch transmission with seven gears meaning you can’t stir the gearbox yourself, but it’s plenty snappy enough – it’ll pass 60mph in 4.5 seconds on its way to 155mph maximum.
Inside the modern car, accouterments aplenty compared to the 60-year-old classic, with air conditioning, digital dashboard, electronic parking brake, and reversing camera all being 21st-century additions for the A110.
Quilted leather seats and door inserts provide a retro and luxurious ambiance.
Comparing The Alpine A110 To The Porsche Cayman
For 2022, the A110 has seen an update with the S model at the flagship end receiving 300hp and 250lb-ft of torque, with 4.2 seconds to 60mph and 170mph being performance stats worthy of a mention, especially considering the small 1.8-liter gasoline engine powering the car with no help from batteries – yet.
Comparing it with the Cayman – there are other cars like the Audi TT, BMW M2, or Toyota Supra with which it competes – it has a favorable power-to-weight ratio and is a little smaller (although not by much). In a Car And Driver review in 2019, it put the Alpine at an inch lower and 8 inches shorter than a Cayman.
In 2022, the latter comes starting with a 2-liter 300hp engine and the option of a manual instead of the 7-speed DCT-only option like in the Alpine A110, although you can spec a DCT if you wish. Of course, the Cayman owns the prestige of the Porsche badge and an interior that doesn’t have any borrowed Renault switches or parts. Otherwise, the Alpine also makes 300hp with the newer version from its 1.8-liter and includes an updated infotainment system with the now-almost mandatory Apple Car Play and Android Auto.
So, if it’s an apples-for-apples comparison, it’s really very close. Ignoring for a moment that the Porsche Cayman range goes up to 493hp in the GT4 RS version (because the A110 doesn’t have any bigger-engined hardcore versions) it looks good value and an interesting alternative to the Cayman which, although French, and from a company which is perhaps still unknown to the everyday onlooker; isn’t the niche and quirky car that an Alpine used to be.
It is now in with a shout as being an obvious rival to the mighty Porsche brand.