Living with the A110 Légende
Review by Jacob Lerklint.
Having spent a considerable amount of time with various iterations of the Alpine A110 these couple of years I just can’t get enough of them. The recipe of a lightweight midship sports car simply works. The previous Alpine A110 I drove was the S version with the stiffer suspension and juiced up engine. The 40 horsepower increase from the standard A110 was very welcome but the stiffer suspension took some of the fun out of it, it felt unnecessary. What if I told you could have an Alpine A110 with the power from the S and the softer suspension from the standard car? Well now you can! Let me introduce you to the limited Alpine A110 Légende GT.
You will notice some small exterior changes as gold emblems, gold brake calipers and this specific car has the matt mercury silver paint. There is a blue paint option too if you fancy that. The wheels are still 18 inch but now with a different design. The most important change happens mechanically; underneath you get the softer sprung suspension from the standard car but you also get the fruiter engine from the S version. That means 292hp and 320nm with a zero to 100kmh in 4.4 seconds with a top speed of 260kmh. The 300mm front and rear brakes are also from the S. The gearbox remains the same, 7 speed dual clutch transmission.
The Alpine A110 is not particularly flawed but the interior feels a bit outdated. The infotainment system remains rubbish and the practicality for a car with the name “GT” in it doesn’t impress. But it’s not all bad, this Légende GT version comes with adjustable comfort seats with heating. The very light bucket seats in the other models were reasonably comfortable but you needed tools just to adjust the rake. These new seats are much more comfy and allows you to take your A110 on longer trip without hurting your back.
So, how does it drive? Well, this Alpine A110 Légende GT is easily the greatest A110 I’ve driven, so far. With 292hp you have plenty of power and combining that with the soft suspension and the low weight you have the perfect Alpine. The growling sound from the 1.8 liter turbocharged 4 cylinder engine is as exhilarating as ever. Even though we were on winter tires the grip and feel was still on point.
As I'm writing this Alpine has released a facelifted and updated versions' of the Alpine A110 with better technology and even more sophisticated suspension. With Alpine now in charge of Renault Sport (R.S) I cannot wait to see what they have in store for the upcoming performance models.
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