In June, we discovered Alpine would send their excellent sports cars to the US in 2027. The French automaker has now shared its ideas for an electric sports car with a small, quick body. Autocar says Alpine is returning the A310 name for a future four-seater electric car. The French car company wants to sell seven electric vehicles by 2030. The A310 will be built on the Alpine Performance Platform, which will also be used to make the electric A110 car that will come out in 2027. In contrast to the A110, which is a two-seater with a more polished driving experience, the A310 is expected to be a sports car that is a little more useful and can compete with the Porsche 911. Even though the company plans to switch to electric driving, it wants to go against the trend of increasing curb weights. Bruce Pillard, who is in charge of marketing for Alpine, says, “If all of our future models are electric, they’re going to be true Alpines.” “Their genes will make them nimble and unweighted.” Even though it is an electric car with a battery on the interior, you will be surprised by how light it is. That is a critical point. A light electric racing car would be great, but that should go without saying. Also, many buyers want their EVs to have a long range, meaning the design needs to include bigger batteries. Alpine has a significant challenge to make the A310 handle well and be fun to drive while still having enough range to be helpful. Solid-state batteries are an example of cutting-edge technology that Alpine can use. Still, because Alpine wants the A310 to be as light as possible, it is expected to have a limited range of EVs on the market. But for a fast and fun racing car, this might be fine. Alpine wants the A310 to be “an icon of future sports cars.” It might take some time to see how the idea turns out. Antony Villain, in charge of design, said the finished design would probably be done in 18 months. A four-seater is necessary if the brand wants to move out of its current niche and into a bigger market with more buyers. Alpine is working on a lot of other exciting things besides the A310. In the future, the A110 will be offered as both a coupe and a roadster. The company also plans to release the A290 hot hatchback, which will be based on the Renault 5 EV. With the new GT X-Over, the company will join the tough market for crossovers. The collection will be completed by two premium cars about the same size as the BMW 3 Series and the BMW 5 Series. Even though not all of these models are sure to come to the US in 2027, a number of the most wanted models will almost certainly be there. Even though enthusiasts like a simple, tightly focused coupe, the business case for a sports car with four seats is usually better. By making the A310 this way, Alpine could sell more cars and reach its goal of becoming a better-known bulk carmaker. How well it lives up to the promise of a light, fast EV will depend on how well it is built and designed.
