Alpine finally pledged to join the EV race by 2026 with the electric A110 sportscar, along with an electric hot hatch and an electric crossover. A report from Autocar confirms that Alpine boss, Laurent Rossi, is looking forward to the transition and has stated that the electric A110 coupe will retain the driving dynamics it is known for. The electric A110 will be pivotal in the French carmaker’s history.

Alpine was never in the limelight of the commercial world, and while its only offering, the A110, has been a trendy two-door coupe, it is limited to Europe. So to increase its global footprint, Alpine will also offer two other EVs in the form of a crossover and a hatchback, depending on the market values. But the electric two-door coupe will continue to play its role in holding the brand’s performance and racing heritage.

The Alpine boss confirms that the upcoming electric A110 will have a lot of similarities under the skin with the forthcoming electric Lotus Type 135. However, he added that it should be properly different by saying “we hope to preserve the A110 DNA, and it might be quite different from the rest of the cars nowadays: the same platform, same electric power, distributed to all wheels if you are lucky, and it is pretty much a matter of fine-tuning the output of the motors.”

Laurent Rossi confirms that the electric A110 “will still retain advantages in terms of chassis dynamics and agility” if the company utilizes aluminum instead of steel. “Our ambition is to keep the characteristics and the DNA of the A110 intact and differentiated from others as a competitive advantage”, he added.

The tie-up between Lotus and Alpine was confirmed in April 2022, and Renault even considered moving the production wing of the A110 to Lotus’ plant in the UK. Rossi added that “Lotus and us share the same preoccupation, which is trying to make light, agile sports cars, while obviously adding weight and electrifying. So it is only normal that we think about those challenges together, at least upstream. We will see if we partner up, but obviously, we share the same problems and the same opportunities.”

The Alpine A110 was recently updated in early 2022, which brings a more modern infotainment system, featuring Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, Bluetooth, and voice recognition. The starting price of the A110 is about $60,000, and a 248-horsepower pumping 1.8-liter four-pot powers it. The Alpine boss confirmed that the technical and platform specifications would be known by the end of 2022, so stay tuned for more updates.