Alpine, the sports car sub-brand of Groupe Renault, unveiled an unusual concept car in January this year, essentially turning its A110 coupe into a crossover SUV. No one took it seriously back then, but now it turns out the car has been patented in Netherlands.
The vehicle depicted on the patent images looks only marginally different from its show counterpart, the changes boiling down to new air intakes and a fuel cap to the right.
The design study was 80mm (3.125 inches) wider than the regular A100 and had 60mm (2.4 inches) of added clearance. It came equipped with the stock A110 Pure engine, a gasoline 1.8-liter turbo-four with 252 hp (188 kW) at its disposal. A Getrag 7G DCT sent the momentum to the rear axle.
Even despite this reassuring news, whether the model will make it to the market or not remains a big question. The French company announced a major restructuring of its business in May, leaving the entire future of the Alpine brand hanging in the air. The A110 model has been in production in Dieppe, France for three years now, and there is nothing preventing the manufacturer from shutting it down as soon as the last batch is finished.
The Alpine A110 SportsX is not unique in its “off-road-capable coupe” niche”: one could remember such other examples as the RUF Rodeo and the Syberia RS, both of which use the Porsche 911 as the starting point.