Brian_Innes
Member
Watching the fishing boats land their catch at Burghead.
Brian
Brian
Life after Cayman - My 2021 Alpine A110 Legende GT.
- Thread starter Brian_Innes
- Start date
With all this talk of the Alpine 110 it takes me back to the late sixties when I was into rallying more watching them than taking part although some of my pals where into club rallies .We use to go to a lot the major ones in Scotland and that is where I first meet and saw the original A 110 driven by Nigel Hollier/Phil Short who was a friend of one of the guys who was also competing .Great times remember a rally think it was the Burmah or the Blane stages and the night ended up in Oban in Mac Tavities Kitchen with Rodger Clark playing the piano in the small hours in the morning.
Brian_Innes
Member
Today I fitted the NextBase dash cam to my A110. A similar installation procedure to the 718 Cayman. From the camera on the windscreen, the cable is secured behind the passenger sun visor, run down behind the rubber door seal on the A pillar to the floor, then behind the passenger foot rest, along the centre console base between the seats, and plugged in to the handy power socket at the rear of the central console. The job only took 15 minutes in total.
The A110 comes with a useful Safety Pack in the rear luggage compartment. The pack contains, a First Aid Kit, Warning Triangle, and a High Viz Safety Vest. A selection of spare fuses are also included with the picture repair kit and tyre inflation compressor. In addition to the manufacturers puncture repair kit, I always carry a Silverline puncture repair pack in the car. I can verify the effectiveness of the Silverline kit having suffered a front tyre puncture on my Cayman R at a hotel in Anglesey in 2015. The resulting repair lasted all the way home to the Highlands without losing any air from the tyre. A very impressive result.
Brian
The A110 comes with a useful Safety Pack in the rear luggage compartment. The pack contains, a First Aid Kit, Warning Triangle, and a High Viz Safety Vest. A selection of spare fuses are also included with the picture repair kit and tyre inflation compressor. In addition to the manufacturers puncture repair kit, I always carry a Silverline puncture repair pack in the car. I can verify the effectiveness of the Silverline kit having suffered a front tyre puncture on my Cayman R at a hotel in Anglesey in 2015. The resulting repair lasted all the way home to the Highlands without losing any air from the tyre. A very impressive result.
Brian
Adrian Thompson
New member
I have recently sold my lovely 987 manual Spyder, and was feeling the loss, despite having a nice Cayman 987 S as a winter car. I have been drawn to the A110 since its launch as low weight undoubtedly allows designers the scope to optimise the car from a handling point of view. This week I had a lovely test drive in a Pure A110 and was well impressed. I'm 6ft 6 and for me there is far more leg room in the A110. Seats are great, visibility a bit restrictive as you are seated further back from the windscreen. Reflections are a pain as you note. It was a demo car with only a few hundred miles showing, but I was told to just take it away and have an hours fun in the car with no restrictions. I was not aware aware of running in restrictions, so perhaps be aware of buying a demo car!
Likes: In Pure form, the ride was incredible compared to the Spyder. Road imperfections that would make one wince in the Spyder were almost unnoticed in the A110. Some roll in corners but not unpleasant - in fact rather nice. It does go well when extended in Sport - its a very quick car. Not sure I would want the S which will have a less compliant ride. Gearbox very nice, and brakes spot on. It looks great in the flesh - delicate almost.
Dislikes: Instruments are a bit Star Wars, with readouts of BHP and torque plus all kinds of unwanted information in Sport. A good Stack instrument display would be more in keeping with the minimalist approach. I would not bother with the sports exhaust either as the standard is quite load enough - but then I'm an old codger. The engine note is OK, a bit reminiscent of my Lotus days. It is not a flat six though and never will be. Driving home in my gen1 Cayman S was not such a hardship. It feels heavier. It is heavier, but it does feel a bit more planted.
Great little car and I would have one in a flash. Second hand ones are making more than new, so go figure that out!
Likes: In Pure form, the ride was incredible compared to the Spyder. Road imperfections that would make one wince in the Spyder were almost unnoticed in the A110. Some roll in corners but not unpleasant - in fact rather nice. It does go well when extended in Sport - its a very quick car. Not sure I would want the S which will have a less compliant ride. Gearbox very nice, and brakes spot on. It looks great in the flesh - delicate almost.
Dislikes: Instruments are a bit Star Wars, with readouts of BHP and torque plus all kinds of unwanted information in Sport. A good Stack instrument display would be more in keeping with the minimalist approach. I would not bother with the sports exhaust either as the standard is quite load enough - but then I'm an old codger. The engine note is OK, a bit reminiscent of my Lotus days. It is not a flat six though and never will be. Driving home in my gen1 Cayman S was not such a hardship. It feels heavier. It is heavier, but it does feel a bit more planted.
Great little car and I would have one in a flash. Second hand ones are making more than new, so go figure that out!
Brian_Innes
Member
Adrian,
You are spot on!
The A110 Pure is more compliant in the suspension department than the Legende GT I own. First and foremost, it's a driver's car. Second, it's not a Porsche. Never meant to be. The A110 is a light-weight precision car suited to keen drivers who know about vehicle dynamics. The windscreen reflections are only obtrusive when the sun is overhead in front of you. Otherwise, not an issue. The 718 also had windscreen refections from the Sport Chrono clock on the dash placed too far back.
I take your point about the Star Wars display on Sport and Track modes. As if I would have the time to look at them on a hot lap! Too much information springs to mind.
I'm still running-in my Legende GT, so I'm eagerly awaiting the freedom to use the full rev range and performance of the A110. So far, the gearing is deliciously close. Only 400 revs between 2nd, 3rd, and 4th gears. The car is surprisingly responsive, even by 718 Cayman experiences. Turbo lag in manual mode absolutely nil.
The resale values of A110 cars are justifiably high in my opinion. My tip. If you are a keen driver, go for the firmer sprung S or Legende GT. It's Porsche standard handling.
Brian
You are spot on!
The A110 Pure is more compliant in the suspension department than the Legende GT I own. First and foremost, it's a driver's car. Second, it's not a Porsche. Never meant to be. The A110 is a light-weight precision car suited to keen drivers who know about vehicle dynamics. The windscreen reflections are only obtrusive when the sun is overhead in front of you. Otherwise, not an issue. The 718 also had windscreen refections from the Sport Chrono clock on the dash placed too far back.
I take your point about the Star Wars display on Sport and Track modes. As if I would have the time to look at them on a hot lap! Too much information springs to mind.
I'm still running-in my Legende GT, so I'm eagerly awaiting the freedom to use the full rev range and performance of the A110. So far, the gearing is deliciously close. Only 400 revs between 2nd, 3rd, and 4th gears. The car is surprisingly responsive, even by 718 Cayman experiences. Turbo lag in manual mode absolutely nil.
The resale values of A110 cars are justifiably high in my opinion. My tip. If you are a keen driver, go for the firmer sprung S or Legende GT. It's Porsche standard handling.
Brian
Adrian Thompson
New member
In my opinion most Porsches are over tyred unless you are tracking the car. Thats what is so nice about the Alpine - levels of grip are high but you don't need to drive the nuts off the car to get some movement. I looked at a 997 recently and the rear tyres are 305's which must be more than 385 bhp requires. More than a Lamborghini in fact. I remember my Lotus Elite which had the skinniest tyres, and the car handled a bit like the Alpine. Softly sprung but well damped which was the Chapman way. I think he would approve of the Alpine. Im envious of your empty roads Brian!
Brian_Innes
Member
Adrian,
Good points made on the tyres.
My 1966 Lotus Elan S3 S/E Coupe had the wider Elan Plus 2, 5.5J X 13" centre lock wheels, shod with 185 section Michelin XAS asymmetric tyres. The compliant ride and pin sharp handling on the Elan mirrored that of its predecessor the Elite. You are right, Colin Chapman would most certainly have approved of the A110.
While on the subject of tyres, no Porsche crabbing apparent from the front axle on the A110 when manoeuvring on full lock. The 205 section tyres certainly a contributing factor, as is the double wishbone suspension probably.
I'm blessed with a huge choice of wonderful driver's roads in my locality. Now that the tourists have all gone, so has the traffic. Sports cars are all about driving enjoyment. Speed camera festooned roads with 50mph speed limits and high density traffic levels are contrary to driving enjoyment. For this reason, track days have become increasingly popular with Porsche owners. Grip levels are now so high that 99% of owners run out of bravery and/or driving ability long before the car's grip thresholds are reached. Even then, the intervention of traction controls and torque vectoring dilute the driver input experience. Speaking for myself, driving enjoyment arises from being at one with the car throughout the speed range, even though that may be well within the chassis capabilities of the car. In that regard, both the Cayman and the A110 score heavily in favour.
Brian
Good points made on the tyres.
My 1966 Lotus Elan S3 S/E Coupe had the wider Elan Plus 2, 5.5J X 13" centre lock wheels, shod with 185 section Michelin XAS asymmetric tyres. The compliant ride and pin sharp handling on the Elan mirrored that of its predecessor the Elite. You are right, Colin Chapman would most certainly have approved of the A110.
While on the subject of tyres, no Porsche crabbing apparent from the front axle on the A110 when manoeuvring on full lock. The 205 section tyres certainly a contributing factor, as is the double wishbone suspension probably.
I'm blessed with a huge choice of wonderful driver's roads in my locality. Now that the tourists have all gone, so has the traffic. Sports cars are all about driving enjoyment. Speed camera festooned roads with 50mph speed limits and high density traffic levels are contrary to driving enjoyment. For this reason, track days have become increasingly popular with Porsche owners. Grip levels are now so high that 99% of owners run out of bravery and/or driving ability long before the car's grip thresholds are reached. Even then, the intervention of traction controls and torque vectoring dilute the driver input experience. Speaking for myself, driving enjoyment arises from being at one with the car throughout the speed range, even though that may be well within the chassis capabilities of the car. In that regard, both the Cayman and the A110 score heavily in favour.
Brian
I was fortunate enough to spend a week in your area Brian, mixing Porsches and Munros. For walking we stayed in Inverinate, but also managed a lap of Skye and a trip to Applecross. We relocated to meet up with some others in Aviemore, but then did a memorable day trip up, via Lairg to Kylesku and down the coast to Lochinver, Ullapool, Gairloch and a deserted A832 / A837 to Inverness. Wonderful, with plenty of choice for more another time.
Quite a bit of sunshine, but also plenty of opportunity to run out of grip in the wet!
I can imagine that the A110 is very well suited to the roads. Watching a friend thread his Panamera Turbo down some of the bumpy single track tarmac was impressive. The killer whale in a fishpond analogy came to mind.
Quite a bit of sunshine, but also plenty of opportunity to run out of grip in the wet!
I can imagine that the A110 is very well suited to the roads. Watching a friend thread his Panamera Turbo down some of the bumpy single track tarmac was impressive. The killer whale in a fishpond analogy came to mind.
Brian_Innes
Member
John,
Pleased to hear you have sampled the unrivalled driving pleasure of north Highland roads. I know your chosen route very well. As you say, certainly not Panamera Turbo country. This time of the year is an ideal opportunity to tour the north Highlands. Avoid the summer tourist season at all costs I say. The A110 is absolutely in its element on these roads. It is almost as if it were designed with this sort of terrain in mind. The agility and responsiveness is of the highest order.
This weekend I am off on a tour of my own. Far away from the comfort zone of Highland roads I am headed to the far south for me. Derbyshire and Cheshire are my destinations: motorway-land will predominate, although rural roads will also feature in both shires. I shall be taking the opportunity to call in at Porsche Centre Chester to convey my sincere thanks for a superb service over the past 3 years. For me, this OPC is the benchmark for customer service excellence. I am booked for a test drive of a Taycan. This is only a brief curiosity encounter as I have absolutely no intention of owning one. I'm still a petrol car enthusiast........Always.
This will be my very first opportunity to test the A110 on a long tour, following many such experiences with my Caymans over the past 13 years. At this time of the year the weather rules the choice of clothing and jumpers and jackets are the order of the day. As a single traveller this makes the task a lot easier with the limited luggage storage available on the A110. Consequently, I managed to get everything into 3 bags. 1 - an aircraft cabin compatible wheelie case, 2 - a soft holdall, and 3 - a small shoulder bag. The jackets and spare shoes managed to slot in to the spaces beside the wheelie case. The soft bag easily fitted into the rear luggage compartment with plenty of room either side for the other essential items a long tour demands. The shoulder bag and track day safety helmet bag fitted neatly into the front passenger footwell, with my usual rucksack strapped into the passenger seat. This is an identical arrangement as used on my two continental tours to France and Germany with my 987.2 Cayman S and 718 Cayman S. Photos will follow of the luggage in place.
I intend attending the PCGB track day at Oulton Park on the 29th October. Following my visit to OPC Chester I'll make my way to Oulton Park for the afternoon session. I'm attending as a spectator, but have packed the safety helmet should the opportunity arise for a few passenger laps with people I know. I am very much looking forward to meeting Porsche Club members from times past.
I'll report back on how this whole adventure goes in due course.
Brian
Front luggage compartment all loaded.
Pleased to hear you have sampled the unrivalled driving pleasure of north Highland roads. I know your chosen route very well. As you say, certainly not Panamera Turbo country. This time of the year is an ideal opportunity to tour the north Highlands. Avoid the summer tourist season at all costs I say. The A110 is absolutely in its element on these roads. It is almost as if it were designed with this sort of terrain in mind. The agility and responsiveness is of the highest order.
This weekend I am off on a tour of my own. Far away from the comfort zone of Highland roads I am headed to the far south for me. Derbyshire and Cheshire are my destinations: motorway-land will predominate, although rural roads will also feature in both shires. I shall be taking the opportunity to call in at Porsche Centre Chester to convey my sincere thanks for a superb service over the past 3 years. For me, this OPC is the benchmark for customer service excellence. I am booked for a test drive of a Taycan. This is only a brief curiosity encounter as I have absolutely no intention of owning one. I'm still a petrol car enthusiast........Always.
This will be my very first opportunity to test the A110 on a long tour, following many such experiences with my Caymans over the past 13 years. At this time of the year the weather rules the choice of clothing and jumpers and jackets are the order of the day. As a single traveller this makes the task a lot easier with the limited luggage storage available on the A110. Consequently, I managed to get everything into 3 bags. 1 - an aircraft cabin compatible wheelie case, 2 - a soft holdall, and 3 - a small shoulder bag. The jackets and spare shoes managed to slot in to the spaces beside the wheelie case. The soft bag easily fitted into the rear luggage compartment with plenty of room either side for the other essential items a long tour demands. The shoulder bag and track day safety helmet bag fitted neatly into the front passenger footwell, with my usual rucksack strapped into the passenger seat. This is an identical arrangement as used on my two continental tours to France and Germany with my 987.2 Cayman S and 718 Cayman S. Photos will follow of the luggage in place.
I intend attending the PCGB track day at Oulton Park on the 29th October. Following my visit to OPC Chester I'll make my way to Oulton Park for the afternoon session. I'm attending as a spectator, but have packed the safety helmet should the opportunity arise for a few passenger laps with people I know. I am very much looking forward to meeting Porsche Club members from times past.
I'll report back on how this whole adventure goes in due course.
Brian
Front luggage compartment all loaded.
Brian_Innes
Member
Rear luggage compartment loaded. More room in here than first imagined.
Brian_Innes
Member
As a single traveller I can utilise the front passenger areas for additional bags. This is identical to the arrangement I used on the Cayman during continental tours.
Brian
Brian
Well packaged Brian! Clearly there’s significantly less luggage and oddity space compared with the Cayman but sufficient for a singleton like yourself. Enjoy your trip.
Here’s another Legende versus Cayman test for your perusal:
https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-features/alpine-a110-legende-gt-vs-porsche-718-cayman/44842
Jeff
Here’s another Legende versus Cayman test for your perusal:
https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-features/alpine-a110-legende-gt-vs-porsche-718-cayman/44842
Jeff
Brian_Innes
Member
Jeff,
I have today returned from a 1000+ mile 8 day tour to Derbyshire and Cheshire. A full report to follow soon.
Thanks for posting the PH Cayman 2.0 PDK v Alpine A110 Legende GT comparison. The comments written are generally in concord with my own findings. The main difference being I own my A110, and have a tad more experience than half a day's driving of the A100 Legende GT. More on this later.
Brian
I have today returned from a 1000+ mile 8 day tour to Derbyshire and Cheshire. A full report to follow soon.
Thanks for posting the PH Cayman 2.0 PDK v Alpine A110 Legende GT comparison. The comments written are generally in concord with my own findings. The main difference being I own my A110, and have a tad more experience than half a day's driving of the A100 Legende GT. More on this later.
Brian
Brian_Innes
Member
Derbyshire and Cheshire Tour Part 1.
Before I embark upon writing my final verdict comparing the 2021 Alpine A110 Legende GT with my previously owned Porsche Caymans, readers may be interested in my observations and experiences gained during the past week when touring Derbyshire and Cheshire with my Alpine A110.
The total 8 day trip from, and returning to, my home near Inverness was precisely 1058 miles. Average fuel consumption worked out at 38.0mpg. Also notable, was the surprisingly modest average speed of only 43mph. More of this latter statistic will be revealed later.
I chose to break my trip both outward and homeward at the excellent Dakota Forth Bridge Hotel, South Queensferry, near Edinburgh. The journey south to Derbyshire via the A1 to Berwick was dictated by very heavy rain affecting my usual A68-A69 route on the day of travel. Having joined the A194M and A1M after taking the Tyne Tunnel, the journey from Queensferry to Derbyshire took just over 5 hours. Many miles of 50mph motorway speed limits, and a very slow drive across the Derbyshire Dales to my hotel in Baslow made the final sector of the journey a very tiring experience. Derbyshire Dales have almost a blanket 50mph speed limit with notices warning drivers of enforcement measures. To make matters even more frustrating, heavy 8-wheeled HGV tipper trucks serving the extensive quarrying activities and a significant cement works, make for very slow progress on the otherwise wonderful flowing roads that abound in this pleasantly scenic part of rural England. Even when the heavy trucks departed to their chosen quarry or construction site, all car drivers I encountered would continue at only 35-40mph despite the speed limit being 50mph. Every corner along the route produced a forest of brake lights regardless of modern vehicle dynamic capabilities. Overtaking was nigh impossible due to traffic density. I couldn't help but feel pangs of frustration at the waste of a good road which, without these mobile obstacles would be a joy to drive, even with the 50mph limit.
On the Tuesday I had a prearranged appointment at Alpine Centre Manchester to meet the sales staff from whom I had bought the car. Never having been in Manchester before, never mind having driven there, I set out on this journey from my hotel in Baslow with more than a little trepidation. The sat nav on the Alpine A110 is not nearly as intuitive to programme as the Porsche PCM system. Not having the benefit of a handover tutorial, I found it impossible to precisely locate the dealership address on the sat nav. All I succeeded in doing was programming the generic postcode which was in the Salford locality just off Trinity Way on the ring road. I even tried searching the local POI portal referring to car dealerships. Nope. The listed dealerships included Alfa, Audi, then Bentley, but not Alpine. To say my experience of driving in the greater Manchester ring road was hair-raising would be a gross understatement. Complex box junctions, bus lane cameras, urban speed limits frequently changing from 40mph to 30mph and back to 40mph, aggressive driving standards by many drivers on multi-lane carriageways, flyovers and under-passes everywhere, made me wish I had never started upon this venture. At one grid locked traffic light junction, a flashing blue light police car with siren blaring appeared behind squeezing its way between the lines of traffic. Fortunately I was stopped beside a gap in the central reservation were I managed to drive into while the police car passed by much too closely, setting my proximity alarms blaring inside the cabin in competition with the shrieking police siren. At some of the traffic light junctions beggars would walk the line of stopped cars proffering a cup for coins. No harassment involved, only a sad sight to see in this day and age in one of the leading cities of the UK. I was just on the point of giving up as completely lost on the ring road, having decided to do a right turn at a filter lane at a traffic light junction on Trinity Way, when to my great relief I looked across to my right to see the Alpine showroom right on the corner of this very junction. Pure luck. This one journey had aged me 5 years! I've driven in big city centres before, Edinburgh, Glasgow, London including the M25, none compared to the stress of this particular drive in greater Manchester. It was with a huge sigh of relief parking at the dealership to be welcomed by my sales contact who had seen me arrive, albeit a bit later than expected.
Following a comprehensive tutorial on the Alpine infotainment and sat nav, I took the opportunity to ask about which ownership sector the predominant customers of Alpine A110 originated from. The main underlying observation given was that Alpine owners are almost exclusively all keen drivers who know about cars and the inherent advantages of high performance dynamics when combined with light vehicle mass. Unsurprisingly, Lotus owners are fairly numerable buying customers. Porsche owners are more likely to be from the older generation 911 models, 964's and 997's mainly, with the A110 being bought as a supplemental car for fun. Tellingly, very few Cayman owners enquire after the Alpine A110. Yet again, it seems I am in the minority, just as I was with my enthusiasm for the 4-cylinder turbo Caymans I enthused about. It seems Cayman owners took such a dislike to the 4-pot turbo, feeling it would be hypocritical to move on to another 4-pot turbo, the Alpine A110 regardless of the rave reviews.
By a happy coincidence I met two other A110 owners while at the Alpine dealership. Both had owned their cars for 3 to 4 years, covering a range of 4700 miles and 11600 miles in each case. In conversation with both the owners, I was pleased to hear that no major problems had arisen during their ownership. One A110 owner had toured the continent with his wife to Germany and Austria. The meagre luggage capacity of the A110 being no deterrent at all, with the two week trip successfully accomplished without any problems at all. Good to know.
That concludes Part 1 of my tour report. Part 2 will cover meeting Porsche Club members at Bakewell and at the very wet Oulton Park track day.
A couple of photos from Alpine Centre Manchester below.
Brian
Before I embark upon writing my final verdict comparing the 2021 Alpine A110 Legende GT with my previously owned Porsche Caymans, readers may be interested in my observations and experiences gained during the past week when touring Derbyshire and Cheshire with my Alpine A110.
The total 8 day trip from, and returning to, my home near Inverness was precisely 1058 miles. Average fuel consumption worked out at 38.0mpg. Also notable, was the surprisingly modest average speed of only 43mph. More of this latter statistic will be revealed later.
I chose to break my trip both outward and homeward at the excellent Dakota Forth Bridge Hotel, South Queensferry, near Edinburgh. The journey south to Derbyshire via the A1 to Berwick was dictated by very heavy rain affecting my usual A68-A69 route on the day of travel. Having joined the A194M and A1M after taking the Tyne Tunnel, the journey from Queensferry to Derbyshire took just over 5 hours. Many miles of 50mph motorway speed limits, and a very slow drive across the Derbyshire Dales to my hotel in Baslow made the final sector of the journey a very tiring experience. Derbyshire Dales have almost a blanket 50mph speed limit with notices warning drivers of enforcement measures. To make matters even more frustrating, heavy 8-wheeled HGV tipper trucks serving the extensive quarrying activities and a significant cement works, make for very slow progress on the otherwise wonderful flowing roads that abound in this pleasantly scenic part of rural England. Even when the heavy trucks departed to their chosen quarry or construction site, all car drivers I encountered would continue at only 35-40mph despite the speed limit being 50mph. Every corner along the route produced a forest of brake lights regardless of modern vehicle dynamic capabilities. Overtaking was nigh impossible due to traffic density. I couldn't help but feel pangs of frustration at the waste of a good road which, without these mobile obstacles would be a joy to drive, even with the 50mph limit.
On the Tuesday I had a prearranged appointment at Alpine Centre Manchester to meet the sales staff from whom I had bought the car. Never having been in Manchester before, never mind having driven there, I set out on this journey from my hotel in Baslow with more than a little trepidation. The sat nav on the Alpine A110 is not nearly as intuitive to programme as the Porsche PCM system. Not having the benefit of a handover tutorial, I found it impossible to precisely locate the dealership address on the sat nav. All I succeeded in doing was programming the generic postcode which was in the Salford locality just off Trinity Way on the ring road. I even tried searching the local POI portal referring to car dealerships. Nope. The listed dealerships included Alfa, Audi, then Bentley, but not Alpine. To say my experience of driving in the greater Manchester ring road was hair-raising would be a gross understatement. Complex box junctions, bus lane cameras, urban speed limits frequently changing from 40mph to 30mph and back to 40mph, aggressive driving standards by many drivers on multi-lane carriageways, flyovers and under-passes everywhere, made me wish I had never started upon this venture. At one grid locked traffic light junction, a flashing blue light police car with siren blaring appeared behind squeezing its way between the lines of traffic. Fortunately I was stopped beside a gap in the central reservation were I managed to drive into while the police car passed by much too closely, setting my proximity alarms blaring inside the cabin in competition with the shrieking police siren. At some of the traffic light junctions beggars would walk the line of stopped cars proffering a cup for coins. No harassment involved, only a sad sight to see in this day and age in one of the leading cities of the UK. I was just on the point of giving up as completely lost on the ring road, having decided to do a right turn at a filter lane at a traffic light junction on Trinity Way, when to my great relief I looked across to my right to see the Alpine showroom right on the corner of this very junction. Pure luck. This one journey had aged me 5 years! I've driven in big city centres before, Edinburgh, Glasgow, London including the M25, none compared to the stress of this particular drive in greater Manchester. It was with a huge sigh of relief parking at the dealership to be welcomed by my sales contact who had seen me arrive, albeit a bit later than expected.
Following a comprehensive tutorial on the Alpine infotainment and sat nav, I took the opportunity to ask about which ownership sector the predominant customers of Alpine A110 originated from. The main underlying observation given was that Alpine owners are almost exclusively all keen drivers who know about cars and the inherent advantages of high performance dynamics when combined with light vehicle mass. Unsurprisingly, Lotus owners are fairly numerable buying customers. Porsche owners are more likely to be from the older generation 911 models, 964's and 997's mainly, with the A110 being bought as a supplemental car for fun. Tellingly, very few Cayman owners enquire after the Alpine A110. Yet again, it seems I am in the minority, just as I was with my enthusiasm for the 4-cylinder turbo Caymans I enthused about. It seems Cayman owners took such a dislike to the 4-pot turbo, feeling it would be hypocritical to move on to another 4-pot turbo, the Alpine A110 regardless of the rave reviews.
By a happy coincidence I met two other A110 owners while at the Alpine dealership. Both had owned their cars for 3 to 4 years, covering a range of 4700 miles and 11600 miles in each case. In conversation with both the owners, I was pleased to hear that no major problems had arisen during their ownership. One A110 owner had toured the continent with his wife to Germany and Austria. The meagre luggage capacity of the A110 being no deterrent at all, with the two week trip successfully accomplished without any problems at all. Good to know.
That concludes Part 1 of my tour report. Part 2 will cover meeting Porsche Club members at Bakewell and at the very wet Oulton Park track day.
A couple of photos from Alpine Centre Manchester below.
Brian
Brian_Innes
Member
The Alpine showroom contained only one new car for sale. A blue A110S with carbon bucket seats and Focal Premium Hi Fi.
Brian
Brian
Brian_Innes
Member
Derbyshire and Cheshire Tour Part 2.
Prior to leaving for this tour, I received an invitation to meet up with PCGB member and occasional contributor to this forum, BrianJ and his wife at the market town of Bakewell. We had met previously only once before at the now defunct Llandudno Porsches on the Prom event. It was a very pleasant and informative couple of hours.
Brian knew someone who had previously worked at both Lotus and Caterham. Apparently, around ten years ago Caterham Cars had plans to design and bring to market a mid-engined coupe to augment their already successful Caterham 7 sports car varieties. Lotus, already an established chassis design consultancy, was involved in the design of the chassis platform and suspension. In keeping with the lightweight construction methods of both these organisations, the chassis and bodywork of this new project would mainly be of an aluminium alloy construction to keep the vehicle mass as light as possible within defined EU regulations. Lotus, for their part, deployed the signature double wishbone suspension, short wheelbase, and minimum bodywork overhangs at each end as was the current vogue on the Elise and Exige mid-engine sports cars. Unfortunately the project was stillborn and subsequently mothballed due to management wranglings at Caterham Cars. It was not until several years had passed by that French car manufacturer Renault got to hear about this forgotten project. Renault had a long history with Lotus, suppling gearbox transaxles for the Europa model and others. Following consultations with Caterham Cars, Renault subsequently obtained the commercial rights to the stillborn sports coupe project. Rather than market the car under the Renault banner, they resurrected the Alpine title which they owned, having fallen by the wayside many years previously. Having seen the global success of retro car marketing with the Fiat 500 and BMW Mini, Renault decided to design the bodywork in keeping with Alpine's successful world rally car of the 1960's, the A110. So thus, the Alpine A110 was born, under the skin of which lies Lotus design DNA. A fascinating insight.
The drive from Baslow to Tarporley in Cheshire was the usual slow drag. Single file traffic light controlled road works in east Cheshire made for a frustrating journey. My first port of call was to drop by Porsche Centre Chester to say a personal thank you to the sales team for a superb customer service during the past four years. I particularly appreciated the Centre Principal, Carl Hazelton, taking time to speak with me. Josh Whiting, with whom I have been involved with my Porsche purchases at Chester suggested I take a short test drive of a Taycan 4S EV. Although I was allocated only a 30 minute drive on local roads and motorways, it proved a very illuminating experience. This was my first visual of the Taycan in the flesh. It's a big, wide car, not quite Panamera sized but the next thing to it. Once behind the wheel, the cars size seemed to shrink. Josh had programmed the very comprehensive touch screen programmes to give the Taycan a sports acoustic soundtrack. This in effect was a pleasant turbine-like whine as the car gathered pace. Speaking of pace, the Taycan 4S is certainly quick. Instant torque no matter the road speed. When I stepped off briskly at a traffic light junction and the car simply warped forward with impressive acceleration for such a heavy car. The sports "whine" acoustics changed tone slightly as the second gear came into play. On the motorway, acceleration from 60mph onwards was equally impressive and completely drama free. It was, for me, a confirmed petrol engine man, a very interesting demonstration of what the future holds in automotive propulsion. Would I buy one? Nope. I'll stick with the ICE propulsion until the time comes for me to give up driving. I'm hard wired for driving with pistons and gearboxes and much too old to change my habits now.
Following my Porsche Centre Chester visit I set off in heavy rain for Oulton Park and the PCGB track day event. I had packed my safety helmet with the plan to cadge a few passenger laps from drivers I know from past events there. The weather was absolutely dire at Oulton Park when I arrived. Having driven there myself in the wet at this time of the year I know only too well how tricky the track can be. Wet leaves are always a feature at the back of the circuit between the Knicker Brook and Deer Leap corners. I saw an unfortunate Boxster with the nearside door mirror hanging off and front end and side panel damage being returned to the pit lane. A sad sight to see, and an expensive repair in store for the unfortunate owner. Having witnessed this, and with rain still falling, I made the decision not to sign on as a passenger, a decision I was later to regret.
A visit to the on-site cafeteria for an early lunch revealed that none of the patrons present wore face masks inside the cafe, despite a notice on the door saying face coverings preferred inside the building. I had taken my face masks with me as it is a legal requirement in Scotland to wear face coverings inside all public buildings and shops. Even though I am double vaccinated, covid boostered, and flu jabbed, I chose not to linger inside the cafe when the crowds arrived at the lunch break. It's a personal decision, and one which has served me well throughout this long pandemic.
Outside in the paddock I was delighted to see another Alpine A110 parked by the cafeteria. By coincidence the owner approached and moved his car next to mine in the paddock by the garages. This particular car was also a A110 Legende but of an earlier edition having the 250bhp engine installed, rather than the 292bhp engine in my Legende GT. Subsequent conversation revealed that the "GT" Legende was the final model of the Legende range. I was pleased to hear from the owner that he had covered 18,000 trouble free miles in the car.
During the afternoon the rain abated and the track began to dry in the stiff breeze. The Alpine was a feature of curious interest among casual observers and a few Porsche owners in the paddock. I had several conversations with people who were interested in what the car was like to own. A curiosity piece if you wish.
During my time at Oulton Park I spoke with two PC members who contribute to this forum. Firstly, I introduced myself to Mr Twinfan, David, who was about to embark upon a tutored track session after the lunch break. David's yellow 982 GT4 was easily spotted due to the very neat bespoke titanium exhaust he recently fitted. The car sounds really good with this exhaust, and the difference in pitch compared to standard 982 GT4's was clearly apparent. A very worthwhile addition in tandem with his lightweight flywheel modification carried out at around the same time.
I also met Mike Allen, Macan Register Secretary, who came over to introduce himself. I have corresponded with Mike on several occasions during my Macan Turbo ownership. It was pleasure to meet with him and view his stunning 991 GT3 RS. Mike kindly offered me passenger laps in the car knowing that I had brought my safety helmet with me. This, I would have jumped at had I signed in as originally planned. Unfortunately it was now after 3pm and too late in the day to sign on. I would have loved a few laps in the GT3RS at Oulton Park. Hopefully, the chance will arise again in the future.
So ended my 8 day trip. The drive back north to Scotland was wet yet again. Heavy road spray on the M6 continued as far as the M74 where the rain reduced to a light drizzle. Another 3 hour non-stop stint at the wheel of the A110 produced no adverse aches or pains. The Alpine Sports Comfort seats proved as comfortable as the best of my Cayman seats on a similar journey. The route I chose to Edinburgh branched off the M74 at Abington onto the A702, joining the A720 to South Queensferry. The journey took 5 hours exactly despite the 50mph variable speed limits due to surface water on the carriageways. The subsequent drive north the following day to my home near Inverness was pure joy. Even the A9 was traffic light compared to that experienced in the south. The drive from Aviemore, Carrbridge, and Dava Moor, was my first opportunity to sample the full performance of the A110 now that running-in was completed. More on that topic later when I post my final verdict on the A110 Legende GT compared to my extensive Cayman experiences.
All that is to follow in a couple of week's time when I bring this thread to its ultimate conclusion.
Brian
Prior to leaving for this tour, I received an invitation to meet up with PCGB member and occasional contributor to this forum, BrianJ and his wife at the market town of Bakewell. We had met previously only once before at the now defunct Llandudno Porsches on the Prom event. It was a very pleasant and informative couple of hours.
Brian knew someone who had previously worked at both Lotus and Caterham. Apparently, around ten years ago Caterham Cars had plans to design and bring to market a mid-engined coupe to augment their already successful Caterham 7 sports car varieties. Lotus, already an established chassis design consultancy, was involved in the design of the chassis platform and suspension. In keeping with the lightweight construction methods of both these organisations, the chassis and bodywork of this new project would mainly be of an aluminium alloy construction to keep the vehicle mass as light as possible within defined EU regulations. Lotus, for their part, deployed the signature double wishbone suspension, short wheelbase, and minimum bodywork overhangs at each end as was the current vogue on the Elise and Exige mid-engine sports cars. Unfortunately the project was stillborn and subsequently mothballed due to management wranglings at Caterham Cars. It was not until several years had passed by that French car manufacturer Renault got to hear about this forgotten project. Renault had a long history with Lotus, suppling gearbox transaxles for the Europa model and others. Following consultations with Caterham Cars, Renault subsequently obtained the commercial rights to the stillborn sports coupe project. Rather than market the car under the Renault banner, they resurrected the Alpine title which they owned, having fallen by the wayside many years previously. Having seen the global success of retro car marketing with the Fiat 500 and BMW Mini, Renault decided to design the bodywork in keeping with Alpine's successful world rally car of the 1960's, the A110. So thus, the Alpine A110 was born, under the skin of which lies Lotus design DNA. A fascinating insight.
The drive from Baslow to Tarporley in Cheshire was the usual slow drag. Single file traffic light controlled road works in east Cheshire made for a frustrating journey. My first port of call was to drop by Porsche Centre Chester to say a personal thank you to the sales team for a superb customer service during the past four years. I particularly appreciated the Centre Principal, Carl Hazelton, taking time to speak with me. Josh Whiting, with whom I have been involved with my Porsche purchases at Chester suggested I take a short test drive of a Taycan 4S EV. Although I was allocated only a 30 minute drive on local roads and motorways, it proved a very illuminating experience. This was my first visual of the Taycan in the flesh. It's a big, wide car, not quite Panamera sized but the next thing to it. Once behind the wheel, the cars size seemed to shrink. Josh had programmed the very comprehensive touch screen programmes to give the Taycan a sports acoustic soundtrack. This in effect was a pleasant turbine-like whine as the car gathered pace. Speaking of pace, the Taycan 4S is certainly quick. Instant torque no matter the road speed. When I stepped off briskly at a traffic light junction and the car simply warped forward with impressive acceleration for such a heavy car. The sports "whine" acoustics changed tone slightly as the second gear came into play. On the motorway, acceleration from 60mph onwards was equally impressive and completely drama free. It was, for me, a confirmed petrol engine man, a very interesting demonstration of what the future holds in automotive propulsion. Would I buy one? Nope. I'll stick with the ICE propulsion until the time comes for me to give up driving. I'm hard wired for driving with pistons and gearboxes and much too old to change my habits now.
Following my Porsche Centre Chester visit I set off in heavy rain for Oulton Park and the PCGB track day event. I had packed my safety helmet with the plan to cadge a few passenger laps from drivers I know from past events there. The weather was absolutely dire at Oulton Park when I arrived. Having driven there myself in the wet at this time of the year I know only too well how tricky the track can be. Wet leaves are always a feature at the back of the circuit between the Knicker Brook and Deer Leap corners. I saw an unfortunate Boxster with the nearside door mirror hanging off and front end and side panel damage being returned to the pit lane. A sad sight to see, and an expensive repair in store for the unfortunate owner. Having witnessed this, and with rain still falling, I made the decision not to sign on as a passenger, a decision I was later to regret.
A visit to the on-site cafeteria for an early lunch revealed that none of the patrons present wore face masks inside the cafe, despite a notice on the door saying face coverings preferred inside the building. I had taken my face masks with me as it is a legal requirement in Scotland to wear face coverings inside all public buildings and shops. Even though I am double vaccinated, covid boostered, and flu jabbed, I chose not to linger inside the cafe when the crowds arrived at the lunch break. It's a personal decision, and one which has served me well throughout this long pandemic.
Outside in the paddock I was delighted to see another Alpine A110 parked by the cafeteria. By coincidence the owner approached and moved his car next to mine in the paddock by the garages. This particular car was also a A110 Legende but of an earlier edition having the 250bhp engine installed, rather than the 292bhp engine in my Legende GT. Subsequent conversation revealed that the "GT" Legende was the final model of the Legende range. I was pleased to hear from the owner that he had covered 18,000 trouble free miles in the car.
During the afternoon the rain abated and the track began to dry in the stiff breeze. The Alpine was a feature of curious interest among casual observers and a few Porsche owners in the paddock. I had several conversations with people who were interested in what the car was like to own. A curiosity piece if you wish.
During my time at Oulton Park I spoke with two PC members who contribute to this forum. Firstly, I introduced myself to Mr Twinfan, David, who was about to embark upon a tutored track session after the lunch break. David's yellow 982 GT4 was easily spotted due to the very neat bespoke titanium exhaust he recently fitted. The car sounds really good with this exhaust, and the difference in pitch compared to standard 982 GT4's was clearly apparent. A very worthwhile addition in tandem with his lightweight flywheel modification carried out at around the same time.
I also met Mike Allen, Macan Register Secretary, who came over to introduce himself. I have corresponded with Mike on several occasions during my Macan Turbo ownership. It was pleasure to meet with him and view his stunning 991 GT3 RS. Mike kindly offered me passenger laps in the car knowing that I had brought my safety helmet with me. This, I would have jumped at had I signed in as originally planned. Unfortunately it was now after 3pm and too late in the day to sign on. I would have loved a few laps in the GT3RS at Oulton Park. Hopefully, the chance will arise again in the future.
So ended my 8 day trip. The drive back north to Scotland was wet yet again. Heavy road spray on the M6 continued as far as the M74 where the rain reduced to a light drizzle. Another 3 hour non-stop stint at the wheel of the A110 produced no adverse aches or pains. The Alpine Sports Comfort seats proved as comfortable as the best of my Cayman seats on a similar journey. The route I chose to Edinburgh branched off the M74 at Abington onto the A702, joining the A720 to South Queensferry. The journey took 5 hours exactly despite the 50mph variable speed limits due to surface water on the carriageways. The subsequent drive north the following day to my home near Inverness was pure joy. Even the A9 was traffic light compared to that experienced in the south. The drive from Aviemore, Carrbridge, and Dava Moor, was my first opportunity to sample the full performance of the A110 now that running-in was completed. More on that topic later when I post my final verdict on the A110 Legende GT compared to my extensive Cayman experiences.
All that is to follow in a couple of week's time when I bring this thread to its ultimate conclusion.
Brian
Adrian Thompson
New member
Blimey Brian, you are keeping us waiting for the verdict! - is the A110 up to scratch after a bevy of Caymans etc? Seriously, happy to wait - we are enjoying the prologue.
I'm assuming your number plate has a farming reference. I farmed in Scotland many years ago, and had a couple of good collie dogs. I might have done better at the sheepdog trials had I donned that number plate on my Series 1 Landrover.
I'm assuming your number plate has a farming reference. I farmed in Scotland many years ago, and had a couple of good collie dogs. I might have done better at the sheepdog trials had I donned that number plate on my Series 1 Landrover.
Great to meet up and chat with you at Oulton Park on Friday Brian.
As always your exploits are an excellent read and I too await the concluding assessment.
Shame about missing the passenger laps but there's always same time next year or even the RS day postponed from last year which has just been announced as 4th March .
See you again at some point and meantime continue enjoying your A110 .
Regards
Mike
Macan Register Secretary
-------------------------------------
2021 Macan GTS -Dolomite Silver
2019 GT3 RS Weissach Package - GT Silver
As always your exploits are an excellent read and I too await the concluding assessment.
Shame about missing the passenger laps but there's always same time next year or even the RS day postponed from last year which has just been announced as 4th March .
See you again at some point and meantime continue enjoying your A110 .
Regards
Mike
Macan Register Secretary
-------------------------------------
2021 Macan GTS -Dolomite Silver
2019 GT3 RS Weissach Package - GT Silver
Brian_Innes
Member
Adrian Thompson said:
Adrian,
I do indeed come from a farming background on my late mum's side of the family. "Go bye" is a common command in sheepdog trials as you correctly allude..
My A110 now that it is fully run-in, has the fleetness of a collie dog herding sheep when I am overtaking diddling drivers on the roads that I love.
The final verdict on this particular model of A110 compared to my Cayman experiences may raise an eyebrow or two among the purists, but I can assure you it will an honest appraisal against the very formidable competition my former Caymans provide. I have never owned a base 718 2.0t Cayman which is the model of choice for Piston Heads and You Tubers to pitch against the A110 Legende GT. With my comparison review, the A110 is competing against a much higher benchmark.
Brian
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