The new 2023 Alpine A110 R is a lightweight, carbon-laden track monster!

The past decade has been a great one for Alpine as a brand. From reviving its beloved rally legend – the A110 – to venturing into Formula One. And now, thanks to its aforementioned involvement in the highest of the highest in the motorsport world, Alpine has finally launched a new version of its revived legend, dubbed as the Alpine A110 R.

Albeit packing the similar powertrain as its inferior siblings, much of its ‘radical’ changes comes from the newly redesigned body kits as well as a more aggressive, track-minded chassis setup. Simply put, saying it’s the same car as its siblings would do much injustice to this track-focused monster.

The R proves that adding power is not the sole solution in making a zippier car. For start, the R weighs just 1,082 KG – north of 30 KG lighter than its predecessor, the A110 S. Much of its weight loss is thanks to its radical usage of carbon fibre parts.

The all-new carbon fibre dual-intake hood not only sheds around 2 KG of weight, but also improves the aerodynamics of the R.  On the back, the engine cover is now fully carbon, removing the pre-existed rear glass window. Too bad now you can’t see the cars you’ve passed behind in this track monster.

However, most of its weight loss comes from the new 18-inch carbon fibre wheels, with an asymmetrical wheel design. The rear wheels feature more ‘covering’ compared to the front ones – again helping with the aero. Engulfing these lightweight wheels are the semi-slick Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires, an industry standard for performance cars.

The diet goes on with interior parts. The lightweight Sabelt Track monocoque seats – also made from carbon fibre – now replaces the supple Alcantara seats found in the R’s previous iterations. The seat also comes with a six-point harness – yet another track-focused addition that’ll make sure you won’t be flying around while tackling corners at high speed.

For the performance upgrades, the R now sports a stiffer suspension setup, with a 10 MM lower ground clearance. New Brembo brakes with 320 MM discs not only helps the car stop better but also improves brake cooling – a much needed addition on track days.

As mentioned earlier, the A110 R shares the same powertrain as its sisters – the 1.8 L turbocharged engine, outputting 296 HP. Together with its standard seven-speed automatic transmission, 0 to 100 KMH takes only 3.9 seconds – 0.3 seconds quicker than the A110 S. Flat out, Alpine claims the R can reach up to 285 KMH – 10 KMH faster than the S.

Draped in Racing Matte Blue akin to its Formula One relatives, the Alpine A110 R is ready for order beginning this November. Though no official pricing was announced by the manufacturer, the R is poised for a price tag north of £70,000 (RM370,000) – also a ‘radical’ upgrade from its previous range-topping variant.