Many police forces around the world have used sports cars for a variety of reasons. Whether it’s the Japanese police who have Nissan GT-Rs or the Italians who occasionally drive their Lamborghini Huracans. The Dubai police have a remarkable collection to say the least. Now the French have bought some mid-engined sports cars for their police. The French authorities have ordered a total of 26 copies of their own Alpine A110 mid-engined sports car. They have a pretty interesting plan about what to do with them. One that we approve.
Alpine A110: What You Probably Don’t Know
The Alpine A110 is originally a mid-engined sports car from the 1960s and 1970s. Alpine is an obscure automaker from France that not many have heard of in Europe. The original A110 dominated the 1973 World Rally Championship, winning six of the 13 laps and claiming the title that year.
In the same year, the French car giant Renault acquired the company. Alpine has since been part of the Renault Sport division as a competitive brand. Renault has used the Alpine name over the years to participate in various forms of motorsport events, particularly LeMans.
To pay tribute to the original A110, which has dominated the world rally stage in the past, Renault Sport introduced the modern recreational sport Alpine A110 in 2017. In January 2021, Renault revitalized Alpine as an independent car brand and renamed its existing Formula 1 team as the Alpine F1 Team in order to further promote it. The F1 team consists of two cars driven by two-time F1 world champion Fernando Alonso and French national driver Esteban Ocon.
Alpine A110: Tell me more!
The new Alpine A110 pays homage to the original from the 60s / 70s. Like the original, the new one is also a mid-engined sports car modeled after its predecessor, which dominated the rally scene at the time.
For some, the A110 may be an acquired taste. But when you put the new and the original side by side, the styling makes sense. The original had four round headlights, the same was integrated into the new one, but bypassing all modern safety regulations. The proportions of the new car are unmistakably similar to the original. It is compact, slim and, above all, very desirable.
The A110 from the 1970s was mainly built with parts from Renault. Since Renault built the new one from scratch, there are no dots to guess who built the engine in this one. Behind the driver sits a frugal little 1.8-liter turbo 4-cylinder that develops a modest 250 horsepower and 236 lb-ft of torque. It may not sound very impressive, but the whole car only weighs 2,432 lbs. It’s a recipe any French chef would offer on their menu on the racetrack.
Alpine A110: modest but powerful
Since it is a very light sports car, the A110 can accelerate from 0 to 100 km / h in 4.5 seconds, even with such a modest engine power. Alpine has electronically limited the top speed to 155 mph. That can be an impressive achievement for the small sports car. But what is amazing are the awards it has received from the auto community around the world.
James May of Top Gear and The Grand Tour personally regards the Alpine A110 as a scaled-down supercar. May owns a new Alpine A110 himself.
The former Formula 1 car designer and the man behind the glorious McLaren F1 claimed that the new A110 was the best car he had driven in terms of driveability and handling. He thinks it’s better than even a Porsche or a Lotus Evora. Murray, who drives both one and his daily, took his A110 apart to find out why while developing his new T.50 hypercar project. Praise is no longer possible!
What the French police want with Alpine A110
A total of 26 Alpine A110 sports cars have joined the French police. The National Gendarmerie will use these vehicles in the field. For those unfamiliar with the National Gendarmerie, they are responsible for policing small towns and rural areas, most of which have fewer than 20,000 residents.
The French Interior Ministry has mentioned that the authorities will use the A110 Alpine cars to intervene on the motorways or hunt down crooks driving at high speed. In addition, it will be part of the road safety mission and police tasks.
To add a bit of French flair, local customization company Durisotti will customize the cars to meet the needs of the authorities. In France, the basic A110 costs around 68,000 US dollars. But the additional custom details to meet police needs would cost a fair share on top of that.
While most of the other police forces around the world use their prized national supercars to look chic. The French authorities plan to use their A110 units in the field. Why not? The Alpine A110 is one of the coolest cars you can buy today. It would be a shame if they didn’t! It is a pity, however, that the Alpine A110 is forbidden fruit for the USA.
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About the author
Rahul Kapoor
(14 articles published)
Rahul’s passion for automobiles began very early in his cousin’s workshop, restoring old Ford Model As, Cadillacs and more. Then he came across Formula 1 at the age of 6 and shortly afterwards his father’s cameras. Life is about passions and he intends to share them through his writing and photography.
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