Last year, we heard the initial rumors on a possible new sports car developed by Renault in cooperation with Caterham. Now, AutoCar reports that the new sports car will arrive in concept form in the first half of next year and will target models like the Lotus Evora->ke3240 and Alfa Romeo 4C->ke3773. Caterham also hopes that this new sports car will springboard it into to becoming a global maker.

Last week, Renault->ke72 and Caterham->ke1252 signed a contract for joint ownership of the Dieppe factory - where the two sports car will be produced. Despite being developed in cooperation and under the same roof, the two models will have a distinctive looks, unlike the FR-S/BRZ/GT 86 triplets. Caterham officials said that their cars will feature a distinctive British style and will "be recognizable as coming from Caterham."

It’s likely that under the skin, in the chassis and running gears, the two vehicles will be identical, but reports claim that the engines will be completely different. Also, both models will use weight-saving aluminum and carbon-fiber components.

Click past the jump to read more about the Renault-Alpine concept - the vehicle which inspired the new sports car.

Renault Alpine A110-50 Concept

The A110-50 Concept was unveiled at the 2012 Monaco Grand Prix and gets its design inspiration from the Renault DeZir concept, which was unveiled at the 2010 Paris Motor Show.

The A110-50 was powered by a 3.5-liter 24-valve V-6 engine that delivered a total of 400 horsepower and was fitted to a semi-automatic six-speed sequential gearbox, as well as a twin-plate clutch that the driver could control by either the clutch pedal or a paddle on the steering wheel.