Spy photographers have snapped a mysterious Alpine A110 undergoing testing near the Nürburgring. Since the model is nearly five years old and is dressed in camouflage, it’s natural to assume this is a prototype for an upcoming facelift. However, that remains to be seen as there doesn’t appear to be any exterior styling changes except for the wheels.
This is rather curious as one would expect a handful of changes, especially if Alpine is going through the trouble of taking the model all the way to Germany for testing. Of course, it’s possible the changes are underneath the skin or this is simply an early prototype which could have styling changes later on.
Regardless of what Alpine has up their sleeve, the current A110 Pure has a turbocharged 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine that produces 249 hp and 320 Nm of torque. It’s connected to a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, which enables the coupe to accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 4.5 seconds and onto an electronically-limited top speed of 250 km/h. Customers can also opt for the A110 S, which has an upgraded engine with 288 hp. This drops the 0-100 km/h time to 4.4 seconds, while the top speed climbs to 260 km/h.
While a number of questions remain, the current model is living on borrowed time as Alpine has teamed up with Lotus to create an electric A110 successor. The model was teased earlier this summer, but is still a ways off as Alpine’s first EV won’t arrive until 2024.
