Net Cars Show: Renault Alpine

Showing posts with label Renault Alpine. Show all posts

Renault and Caterham Officially Join Forces to Resurrect Alpine Brand

It's no secret that Renault was looking for a partner to revive its Alpine sports car brand and now the French carmaker says it has found it in the Caterham Group.
The two companies made the wedding official today during a press conference in Paris where they announced the formation of a new 50-50 joint venture to develop both Alpine and Caterham-branded sports cars on common underpinnings and built at Renault's plant in Dieppe in northern France.
The Caterham Group will own a 50% stake in the Automobiles Alpine Renault company, which is currently owned 100 percent by Renault SAS. The Société des Automobiles Alpine Caterham (SAAC) venture will be created in January 2013 and will be headed by Bernard Ollivier, who became vice president of Renault in 2011.

Carlos Ghosn, Chairman and CEO of Renault commented: "This innovative partnership with Caterham embodies a longstanding ambition: the creation of a sports car with the Alpine DNA. It carries both opportunities for the Dieppe plant and the development of its historic expertise."

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New Alpine Berlinette Reportedly to be Co-developed by Renault and Caterham

Ever since Renault unveiled the stunning Alpine A110-50 Concept, the resurrection of the famous brand was almost a given, despite the fact that Renault COO Carlos Tavares insists that any decision won't be made until the end of the year.

Last August, Lotus was linked with developing the production version of the A110-50. It was a rumor, which at the time, made sense since the British carmaker has a lot of experience in developing projects for third-party clients.

Now, however, British publication Autocar claims that Renault has chosen Caterham, not Lotus, as its partner in developing the new Alpine Berlinette.

In the past few months, Lotus has been making the headlines, but not for the right reasons. After Proton sold the British sports car maker to DRB-Hicom, CEO Dany Bahar was ousted and its future was once again thrown into doubt.

However, the Renault-Nissan Alliance may be the knight in shining armor that will give the Hethel-based company a new lease on life.

For reasons that do not need to be explained to an auto enthusiast, the Renault Alpine A110-50 concept study is one of those vehicles that you can never really get enough of, which is why we're bringing you another video of the French sports car.

This film was shot during the Alpine A110-50's speedy drive up the famous hillclimb course at last month's Goodwood Festival of Speed.

With aggressive looks and power to match, the Renault Alpine A110-50 is a worthy successor to the original Alpine A110 Berlinette from the 1960s, and one that most fans of the brand and not only would like to see moving into production.

For now, however, the A110-50 remains a working concept as Renault deliberates whether it will revive the Alpine marque, with a final decision to be made before the end of the year.

While the economic outlook for Europe may be grim, Renault is looking to expand its portfolio with the addition of the two upscale brands including the revival of the Alpine marque to produce sports cars and the creation of another label called Initial Paris to sell luxury models.

Renault's Chief Operating Officer Carlos Tavares confirmed the news in a recent interview with Bloomberg adding that the French carmaker also needs to grow its reach in emerging countries to reduce its reliance on Europe's stagnant car market.

The upcoming Goodwood Festival of Speed will see Renault performing the UK premiere of its new Alpine A110-50 concept car, built to celebrate 50th anniversary of iconic A110 Berlinette. Read more »

Renault Alpine A110-50's Run at the Monaco GP, COO Says there's a 50% Chance to Revive the Brand

Aside from Mark Webber's stunning win, Renault had another reason to celebrate in Monaco this past weekend as the French firm introduced the new Alpine A110-50 Concept to mark the 50th anniversary of its legendary mid-engined sports car.

The presentation took place on the eve of the Monaco Grand Prix, with Renault's Chief Operating Officer Carlos Tavares wearing his race suit to drive the 400-horsepower, mid-engined racer around the Circuit de Monaco.

The Renault Alpine A110-50 Concept isn't just another motionless concept but a fully functional race-car with its impressive looking carbon fiber body covering the chassis and mechanical hardware of the Megane Trophy.

For all the non-believers, the French automaker dropped two videos of the ultra-lightweight A110-50, including one that shows the mid-engined sports car flexing its Nissan-sourced 3.5-liter V6 engine at the Mortefontaine racetrack.

The Alpine A110 Berlinette, one of the rally legends of old, turns 50 this year and to mark the event, parent company Renault has crafted a new concept model in its name that will make its world premiere at the Monaco Grand Prix this weekend.

"We wanted to make a Berlinette that was of our time, and which boldly embodies Renault's passion for motorsport. We were guided by our hearts and emotions," said Renault Concept and Show Car Director, Axel Breun.

Instead of developing and designing a concept model from scratch, Renault stylistically modified the body of the production-intent, all-electric DeZir sports coupe concept from the 2010 Paris Motor Show, and placed it atop of the Megane Trophy racecar, which as you may imagine, is not mechanically related to the production model.

The carbon-fiber bodywork of the A110-50 study combines a new shade of blue that reinterprets the famous original ‘Alpine Blue’ with orange accents. Being a track focused model, the Alpine also features an array of aero components such as the front spoiler, protruding side skirts, a rear diffuser and a large wing.

A French forum has got it hands on what we have to assume are the official images of Renault's much-talked about Alpine A110-50 mid-engined sports car concept, which is scheduled to make its first public appearance at this weekend's Monaco Grand Prix.

This also means that while the first picture we saw of the car may have been partially doctored in one way or another, it did indeed preview the real car.

The A110-50 seems to be heavily based on Renault's DeZir Concept from the 2010 Paris Auto Show featuring the Alpine brand's traditional blue hue and a redesigned front-end sporting some styling cues from the original A110 of the 1960s such as the circular air-intakes between the new headlamps.

Following an official confirmation earlier today, Renault has now published a teaser video of its new Alpine concept sports car, reportedly named A110-50, in advance of its world premiere on Friday, March 25, at the Monaco Grand Prix.

The 30-second long clip gives us a foretaste of some of the concept's styling details like the black alloy wheels and the orange overtones.

While the debate on whether or not a picture of an Alpine concept car that hit the interwebs earlier this week is real still holds on, Renault has indeed confirmed plans to unveil such a model on Friday, March 25, to coincide with the Monaco Grand Prix.

The French carmaker tells us that the car's design "should stir your memory for several reasons" and that "blending the past and the future of the brand, the 400-hp concept car commemorates the 50th anniversary of an emblematic Renault vehicle".

The latest word on the street is that Renault plans to preview a concept model for a spiritual successor to the Alpine sports coupe series this Friday during a special ceremony in Monaco for the 50th anniversary A110 Berlinetta.

The unconfirmed news was quickly accompanied by a supposedly official image of the study named the Renault Alpine A110-50 Concept. While the story on the debut may hold true, we are not fully convinced that the picture is real as it could be a photoshop of Renault's 2010 Paris Motor Show DeZir coupe study.

Net Cars Show

Renault and Caterham Officially Join Forces to Resurrect Alpine Brand

New Alpine Berlinette Reportedly to be Co-developed by Renault and Caterham

Lotus Rumored to Build New Renault Alpine and Infiniti Emerg-e Sports Cars

Renault Alpine A110-50 Concept Shows its Metal at the Goodwood Hillclimb

Renault Alpine A110-50 Concept Goes for a Ride with its Forefather

Renault Contemplating the Launch of Two Upscale Brands Including the Revival of Alpine

Renault to Race Alpine A110-50 Concept at Goodwood Festival of Speed

Renault Alpine A110-50's Run at the Monaco GP, COO Says there's a 50% Chance to Revive the Brand

Sights and Sounds of Renault's 400hp Alpine A110-50 Concept

Renault Alpine A110-50 Concept with Nissan V6 Revealed in Full Detail with More than 70 Photos

New Renault Alpine A110-50 Concept Photos Hit the Interwebs

Renault Video Teases New Alpine Concept Ahead of its Friday Debut

Renault Confirms New Alpine Concept Sports Car with 400-Horses

Renault Alpine A110-50 Concept Picture is Most Likely a Photoshop