Alpine previews electric third-generation A110 with veiled sculpture ahead of Paris Motor Show

A sculpture instead of a car

Alpine has given the first look at the design of its third-generation A110, and it has done so with a full-scale sculpture rather than a vehicle. The piece, draped in a stretched blue veil meant to evoke fabric caught by the wind, shows the proportions and contours of the finished coupe while deliberately leaving details hidden. CarExpert reports the sculpture will be displayed at the Paris motor show next month, with the Dutch-language coverage from AutoNext placing it on the Autosalon van Parijs stand from 12 October. ¹⁴

The display marks only the second time in the brand's 71-year history that Alpine has replaced the A110, as AutoNext notes. Alpine says the veil technique is one its designers routinely use when studying a form, and that the tension in the surface suggests lightness and aerodynamics. Among the inspirations the company cites is Concorde, specifically the moment the supersonic airliner breaks the sound barrier, with the shock cone wrapping the aircraft. Design chief Antony Villain drew the side sculpting from that image, while motor-fan.jp reports Alpine also framed the veil as a way for designers to read proportions rather than simply hide the body. ²⁴⁵⁶

The design that shows through the veil

What the sculpture does reveal is a recognisable A110. CarExpert notes the shark-like V-shaped nose with two lighting units per side, bulging wheel arches and the teardrop-shaped cabin flowing into a rear deck. AutoNext adds that the dual light signature returns, now with hexagonal auxiliary lamps in place of round ones, alongside a slim waist and four heavily muscled wheel arches, with no tall rear wing because downforce work goes into the underbody. ¹⁴

Comparisons with virtual sculptures of the first two generations suggest the new car will be longer overall and between the axles than today's model, according to CarExpert. CarsCoops reads the shape as longer, leaner and more supercar-like while remaining unmistakably an A110. AutoNext reports the new car holds essentially the same height as the outgoing one, about 1.25 metres, a critical number given the height penalty a flat floor-mounted battery normally imposes on an electric sports car. ¹⁴⁵

Twin batteries to keep it low

The key to that roofline lies beneath. The Alpine Performance Platform (APP), which underpins the third-generation A110, places two battery packs at opposite ends of the chassis rather than one slab under the floor. CarExpert reports the rear pack is the larger and heavier, carrying around 75 per cent of the car's total energy capacity, and that the arrangement allows a low driving position, better weight distribution and, Alpine claims, a spacious cabin. The platform appeared at this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed, where the A110 FUTURE development mule was driven. ¹

Both batteries run at 800 volts, which brings extra complexity but enables fast charging. The A110 FUTURE mule ran two rear motors on that 800-volt system with a 40/60 front-to-rear weight balance and torque vectoring between the rear wheels, AutoNext reports, while gagadget describes the motors as using silicon-carbide inverters and spinning up to 21,500 rpm, feeding what it calls Alpine Active Torque Vectoring 2.0. CarExpert says the per-wheel rear motors are claimed to deliver precise torque vectoring and wheel-slip control, and that although APP supports all-wheel drive, there is no hint the new A110 will be anything but rear-wheel drive. ¹³⁴

Specific figures remain unconfirmed. AutoNext, citing L'Automobile Magazine, reports 71.2 kWh gross of battery capacity split 25/75 between front and rear, with cells from Gotion High Tech, but notes Alpine has confirmed neither figure. Alpine has given no specifications yet and says only that the full A110 comes in 2027. ²⁴

Weight is the battle to win

Weight is the obvious casualty of electrification. The outgoing petrol A110 weighed about 1100 kg, and AutoNext reports Alpine's stated ambition is to keep the electric A110 under 1500 kg, with L'Automobile Magazine putting the internal target at 1450 to 1500 kg and saying it has not yet been met. CarsCoops frames the expected increase at roughly 300 kg over today's car. Alpine is expected to publish the homologated weight only with the full reveal in 2027. ²⁴⁵

Electric first, but petrol is not ruled out

Although the new A110 is designed as an EV-only model, Alpine has left the door ajar for combustion. Philippe Krief, Alpine's chief executive, told Autocar earlier this year that with “some small modifications on the platform we can accommodate an engine, gearbox, fuel tank and all you need”, because the larger battery sits where a petrol engine would live in a traditional mid-engine layout. CarsCoops reports that at Goodwood four months later, Krief said a decision on a petrol model would be made by the end of 2026, and that if approved it could take around two years to reach production. ¹⁵

CarsCoops speculates that Horse Powertrain, the hybrid engine venture created by Renault and Geely, is an obvious source, noting one of its units is good for 349 hp, but that remains the publication's analysis rather than an Alpine statement. A combustion option would also matter for any revived US entry, with CarExpert reporting Alpine's American expansion is officially on hold and noting that Krief revealed this summer, per CarsCoops, that the A110 was being put through US crash tests. ¹⁵

Timing and the Australian angle

Alpine has confirmed only that the full A110 arrives in 2027, with production staying in Dieppe as the brand stated when it presented the APP architecture in March, AutoNext reports. Beyond that, L'Automobile Magazine expects the interior to be shown in spring 2027 and sales to begin in early 2028, followed by a four-wheel-drive A310 coupe with 2+2 seating on the same platform. The new A110 also sits within Alpine's broader product plan: gagadget reports it forms part of the brand's 'Dream Garage' strategy of seven electric models by 2030, which already includes the A290 hatch and the A390 crossover. ³⁴

The handover follows the end of petrol A110 production at Dieppe on 1 July 2026, when the second-generation car had accounted for 28,701 of the 35,450 A110s built there since 1969, according to AutoNext. The publication notes that production ended days before the EU's GSR2 safety rules became mandatory for every new registration on 7 July 2026, and that Alpine arrives at this generational change stronger than before, with the A290 and A390 lifting the brand to 10,970 registrations in 2025. ²⁴

For Australian readers, the outlook is distant. CarExpert reports the Alpine brand is currently dormant locally, with the previous A110 discontinued in mid-2022 because of federal side pole impact regulations introduced in late 2021, and Renault Australia has separately said it is not the right time for the brand locally. No local plans for the third-generation car are stated in the coverage. ¹