One-of-32 Alpine A110 R Alonso Version on the market

You realize you’ve made it as a racing driver when a producer names a automotive after you. Nicely, that and all of the trophies. Simply consider the Johnny Cecotto and Roberto Ravaglia version BMW M3s, the Tommi Makinen Mitsubishi Evos and the numerous specials Lotus has produced to honour the nice Jim Clark simply to call just a few.

Then there are the vehicles the place a racing legend has performed a component in its improvement, even when their title hasn’t been slapped on the boot lid. We’re all acquainted with Ayrton Senna’s enter on the unique Honda NSX after all, whereas Michael Schumacher had a hand in growing the Ferrari Enzo (the seven-time System 1 champion would get his personal particular Fiat Seicento and Stilo, however the much less stated about these the higher). This Alpine A110 R Fernando Alonso Edition, nonetheless, combines the perfect of each worlds, sporting the title of the two-time F1 champion and a bespoke setup developed by the person himself. 

The story behind the Fernando Alonso Version is a little bit of a clumsy one. See, when Alpine unveiled its track-focused A110 on the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix, solely one in every of its drivers, Esteban Ocon, was current for the automotive’s reveal. That’s as a result of its star driver Alonso had introduced three months prior that he’d be driving for Aston Martin the next season, and due to this fact had zero curiosity in attending media duties for a crew he’d be leaving in only a few races time. So Alpine had a brand new variant of the A110 to point out off with a particular model named after a driver who was a) about to go away for a rival crew and b) didn’t trouble displaying up for the automotive’s reveal. As such, there aren’t any photos or movies (that we will discover, anyway) of the ’05 and ’06 champ standing subsequent to the automotive that bears his title, not to mention driving it. 

Nevertheless, that shouldn’t take the sheen off what’s, controversy apart, a correctly cool F1 particular. The large change was uprated dampers that could possibly be manually lowered by 10mm, which in flip elevated stiffness by 5 per cent, for a setup honed by Alonso across the Barcelona GP circuit. It was additionally filled with visible upgrades, some extra refined than others, like a matte black vinyl on the boot lid, orange brake callipers, Alonso’s yellow, orange and blue motif on the door inserts, and his signature on the sprint and bonnet.

Some neat touches to what’s in any other case a normal A110 R, which is to say you get the identical 1.8-litre turbo 4 banger with 300hp because the non-Alonso mannequin. Carbon wheels got here as commonplace, as did the F1-derived matte paint, although the Alonso Version does proceed the blue hue onto the bonnet, whereas on the usual automotive it’s all shiny carbon. You additionally get the R’s racy Sabelt carbon bucket seats, albeit with Alonso’s signature embroidered into the headrests – a useful reminder that this ain’t no abnormal R.

It was rather a lot, lot rarer, too. Manufacturing was capped at 32 items, a nod to the Spaniard’s F1 win tally (and given he’s nonetheless in F1 some 20 years after his first title win, there’s hope that quantity might someday develop). As such, it’ll price you greater than a normal R, with this 530-mile car priced at £129,900. In case you can’t be bothered to muck about with the dampers to unlock Alonso’s particular setup, which Alpine advises for monitor use solely, then it can save you just a few bob and nab this equally blue, equally carbon wheel’d A110 R for a £44k low cost. Slap on some Alonso stickers and all however the 31 different homeowners will likely be none the wiser…