An A1(10) Adventure with Alpine!

A Roadster! road trip is something we had wanted to do since we started making Roadster! Thanks to the team at Jaybee Motors in Banbury, we finally got our chance in a fantastic Alpine A110 GT! 

Introduced in 2017, the A110 is a rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive sports car, designed as a modern  version of the famous A110 from the 1970’s.

“GT” stands for “Grand Tourisme”, Grand Tourer cars are designed to drive at speed in style, safety, and comfort over longer distances. A GT provides enjoyment and excitement, with lots of power, good road handling and luxurious passenger comfort. 

Alpine’s GT sports coupe has been especially designed to suit everyday,  long-distance and involved drives on twisty roads, with a powerful 300 horsepower engine, and a strong and lightweight aluminum chassis… making it the perfect car for Roadster’s first ever road trip!

Our route covered 53 miles, in a round trip around our local area. Stops included the Alpine Formula 1 factory, Nanna & Grandad’s house in Shipston-on-Stour, a garage cafe for a bite to eat, and displaying the car at a local car meet. 

We pull out of the Alpine dealership  and head out of town…

Dad: Wow! This feels different to our family SUV Sam!”

Sam: “It’s really cool! Do you like it?”

Dad: “I think so. It’s the first time I’ve ever driven a sports car and the seats are a lot lower down. I feel like I can feel everything the car is doing -it’s  almost like I’m part of it”.

Sam: “I really like the sports seats!” 

Dad: “They are special comfort seats that come with the GT model. They are to keep you comfortable during  long journeys”. 

Dad: “Ok Sam, you are in charge of the entertainment as always”

Sam: “Dad, it’s got Apple CarPlay and Android Auto so we can play Spotify through your phone”.

We drive on through quiet villages.

Sam: “I like how it’s got a unique style. It doesn’t really look like any other cars”.

Dad: “That’s true. I like how it pays respect to  the original Alpine cars while also being modern. 

Sam: “Well the multimedia touch screen looks a lot like ours, and the switches are very similar.  Those vents are the same too”.

Dad: “I think it’s because they are all part of the same family. This is a Renault brand car the same as ours”.

We enter a 70mph speed limit zone

Dad: “This car has different driving modes. There are Normal, Sport or Track modes which change the way the car drives. We’ve been driving in Normal mode. If I press a button on the steering wheel…”

Sam: “Press it Dad, go on, press it!”

Dad presses the button. The normal dials for the speedo and rev counter folding down to reveal a set of sportier looking ones

Sam: “Did you see that Dad? It’s like a James Bond car! It’s changing to show the gadgets!”

Dad presses the accelerator. The car roars and speeds up! Dad has to slow down!

Sam: “Wow! That was quick Dad!”

As we were driving an Alpine we just HAD to call in at Enstone,  home to Alpine’s Formula 1 Team!

At Enstone, the BWT Alpine F1® Team design, test, and manufacture the  F1®car. 

What happens inside Enstone is a closely guarded secret (teams don’t want their competitors finding out what they are doing) and, try as he did, the security guard certainly wasn’t going to let a boy into the factory - even  if he was the world’s youngest car editor in an Alpine! 

Instead, Sam was left to imagine what it might be like inside…

Varjo Mixed Reality Headset

Varjo is a a world-leading virtual and extended reality company working with Alpine Esports. Sam got to experience its XR-3 headset which offered, photorealistic, true-to-life mixed reality:

Sam: It was sooo cool! I got to sit in and explore a virtual Alpine! It was as if it was right there!

Trak Racer Alpine F1® Simulator

Trak Racer make high-end gaming platforms and it is working with Alpine to produce a sim racing rig which has been co-produced by F1 engineers!

Sam: I love racing sims and this one felt really good. I actually felt like I was driving a real F1® car!

BATAK Pro

The BATAK Pro is a piece of equipment designed to improve reaction, hand eye co-ordination and stamina. It is a frame comprising of twelve bright LED targets.

Sam: It was really hard! It got faster and faster but it was great fun and quite addictive!

With thanks to Tim Jones, at the Jaybee Alpine Centre in Banbury, and the Alpine Esports stand at the British Motor Show, for letting Roadster! try some of their tech out!

(This is an abridged version of a feature originally published in Roadster! Issue 4 - December 2023)