A110 R Ultime: Alpine’s $290K Track Toy Chases Porsche’s Shadow

Here's a new number to talk about: 7 minutes and 15 seconds. That’s how fast the Alpine A110 R Ultime supposedly lapped the Nürburgring—20 seconds quicker than the standard A110 R.

There’s a catch, though. Alpine didn’t officially time the lap. Instead, they just claimed the Ultime is 20 seconds faster than the A110 R, which previously set a 7:35 lap according to Sport Auto. So, take that estimate with a grain of salt.

For the price, we expected something special in terms of performance, and Alpine delivered a serious improvement. But compared to Porsche, the Alpine still has work to do. The Ultime is about six seconds slower than the $164,200 Porsche Cayman 718 GT4 RS, which clocked a 7:09.3—and Porsche’s optional $53,946 Manthey kit cut that down to 7:03.121.

Alpine also didn’t clarify whether the time was set on the full 20.832 km Nürburgring layout or the shorter 20.6 km version. If it was the latter, the Porsche’s lead stretches even further, with a 7:04.511 lap on the shorter course—making it 11 seconds faster than the Alpine A110 R Ultime.

So, what did Alpine do to justify that massive price bump over the standard €105,000 ($108,000) A110 R? The core formula hasn’t changed—it still packs a 1.8-liter turbo four. Bigger turbo boosts output from 297 hp to 345 hp and bumps torque to 310 lb-ft, though you’ll need 102-octane fuel to unlock all of it. That’s still way down on power compared to the GT4 RS’s 493 hp.

The six-speed paddle-shift gearbox has been tweaked, shaving the 0-62 mph time down to 3.8 seconds from 3.9. More carbon fiber should also bring the curb weight below 2,425 lbs, though Alpine hasn’t released an official number yet.

The biggest gains come from the chassis and aero. AP Racing brakes, Öhlins TTX dampers, Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires, and a rear wing producing 353 lbs of downforce all help the Ultime claw back time on the track. Alpine is only making 110 units, including 30 “La Bleue” editions with a special gradient blue paint.