More details on the electric Alpine, whose design looks back but is completely different underneath
29/09/2026 13:00
Updated to
29/09/2026 13:00
Alpine is beginning to reveal what one of the most delicate cars in its history will look like. The third-generation Alpine A110 will be fully electric, but the French brand wants to ensure that the technological shift doesn’t erase what has made this sports car recognizable since the original Berlinette. For now, it isn’t showing the final version of the car but rather a sculpture covered by a thin veil that allows glimpses of its shape.
This piece will be one of the highlights at Alpine’s booth at the Paris Motor Show in October and serves as the first real glimpse of the bodywork that will replace the current A110.
It is not merely an artistic exercise. Alpine explains that covering a model with a flexible surface is a technique used by designers to study proportions and volumes without letting small details distract from the overall silhouette.
It Will Still Look Like an Alpine A110
What lies beneath retains several familiar features. The future Alpine A110 will maintain a low and compact body, with a sharp front end, a teardrop-shaped cabin, a narrow waistline, and very pronounced wheel arches. A V-shaped front end and a dual lighting signature are also hinted at, establishing a direct connection to previous generations.
The inspiration behind the sculpture is quite unique. The blue veil is meant to represent, according to the brand, the moment when the Concorde broke the sound barrier, using the tension in the fabric to convey speed, lightness, and aerodynamics.
Alpine aims to preserve one of the concepts that have historically defined the A110: achieving performance through low weight and agility rather than relying solely on extremely high power figures.
And that is precisely where the major challenge of this third generation lies.
There will be a completely new electric sports car underneath
Although it may appear to share similarities with the current model on the outside, there will be very little in common technically. The new Alpine A110 will introduce the Alpine Performance Platform (APP), an architecture developed specifically for electric sports cars. Alpine demonstrated it in action this summer with the A110 FUTURE development prototype at the Goodwood Festival.
The platform features an advanced aluminum structure and an 800-volt electrical architecture. One of its most notable solutions is dividing the battery into two packs located at the front and rear, rather than using a large conventional flat battery under the entire cabin.
The weight distribution is approximately 25% at the front and 75% at the rear, a configuration that Alpine uses to maintain a very low driving position, control weight, and preserve the proportions of a true sports car.
It will also feature two electric motors in the rear axle, integrated into a new unit with power electronics and a silicon carbide inverter.
Dieppe will continue manufacturing the A110
The shift to electric power won’t mean abandoning the location where the model was first produced industrially. The third generation will continue to be manufactured at the historic Jean Rédélé plant in Dieppe, which is already being adapted for producing the new vehicle. Alpine has produced 35,450 units of the A110 there since 1969, of which 28,701 are from the second generation launched in 2017.
The challenge will be considerable. An electric Alpine A110 will have to tackle one of the biggest problems faced by any battery-powered sports car: delivering enough power without losing the lightness and agility that define the vehicle.
That’s why Alpine seems to be paying special attention to the transition process. It first showcased the technology under a temporary bodyshell, and now it’s beginning to reveal its proportions through a sculpture.
The mechanics will change completely. Alpine’s goal is that once the veil is finally lifted, no one will need to look at the name to recognize it as an A110.