When the first World Rally Championship was held in 1973, something remarkable happened.
A small French car manufacturer called Alpine won the title and outdid manufacturers like Ford, Lancia and Porsche.
The ultimate proof that Alpine's lightweight philosophy worked.
It made the A110 an instant classic, but as the years went by,
Alpine's became bigger, more luxurious and heavier...
and in the mid-nineties, the brand disappeared from markets.
Until now. 35 years after Alpine became WRC-champion,
there's a new A110.
Designed completely according to the original: Simple, lightweight and a lot of driving pleasure.
The resurrection of a legend, ready for the battle with the modern Porsche.
And remarkably enough, Alpine doesn't put huge amounts of horsepower in this car.
Just behind me is the turbocharged 1.8-litre 4-cylinder engine...
from the Renault Megane RS. However, it's downtuned a little,
so it only produces 252 horsepower. That's not insignificant...
But it's not a lot either. The 718 Cayman starts at 300 horsepower...
and you can get more powerful engines. The fun part however,
is that Alpine is all about as little weight as possible. That means this car,
ready to go and filled with all of the fluids, weighs 1.161 kg.
That's 300 kg less than the Porsche. So yeah, the Porsche has more power,
but the power-to-weight ratio in the Alpine is better, so when it comes to driving them,
both are incredibly quick. Both cars do 0-100 km/h in about 4,5 to 5 seconds.
This Alpine has very short gears, which you'll be shifting through constantly...
and maybe more importantly even, the 4-cylinder has a lot of personality.
It whistles, it blows, it rumbles, it burbles and if you press the Sport-button,
or rather keep it pressed for the Track-mode, when you release the throttle it starts to...
And that's fun, because it increases the experience.
Another very positive surprise is the EDC-gearbox. It's not as good as Porsche's PDK yet,
because that's still quicker when you shift down a few times, but it's not annoying anymore.
That used to be different when we first got to know it...
in the Clio RS, so everything put together...
There's still a little delay in the throttle response, because you have to wait a little before the power kicks in,
but it's a fun drivetrain. It's alive, it plays with you, it's just good.
Because it doesn't weigh a lot, not only the performance is good,
but the cornering is as well. Because the springs and dampers don't have to process...
a lot of weight, everything can be a little bit smaller.
For example, the brakes. That saves weight and that's how the cycle begins.
As a result, you've got a chassis which is very simple really.
No adaptive dampers, no ridiculously big brakes, no torque vectoring limited-slip diff,
but very simple and that's very good actually.
At first, it's very soft, which means it's pretty comfortable.
When you enter a corner however, you can feel it throwing all of the weight to one side.
Especially if the tarmac is a little wet, you can feel the car dancing around a little.
It's not scary however, it's not a sign that it's not in control.
It's an incredibly well-balanced chassis which communicates nicely, which you can use to the fullest on public roads.
And if it goes wrong, you're always able to correct it because of the low weight.
Anyone who's driven a Mazda MX-5 knows what I'm talking about. The feeling that you can go like hell...
because no matter what, you can correct it, you can save it.
It will never go completely wrong and that's a huge accomplishment.
It's exactly what Alpine's are meant for. They're named after the French mountain roads for a reason.
You're supposed to have fun on public roads. Sure, there are sports cars which are able to lap circuits quicker,
or which are able to quicker through corners, but being this entertaining and enjoyable on public roads...
That's incredibly rare.
I know that there are cars which are able to set faster laps, because this 718 Cayman is one of them.
Or rather, it's able to be one,
because there's a lot of optional technology available on here, which isn't available on the Alpine.
It's just a lot less simple. It's got an electronically operated limited-slip diff,
adaptive dampers, ceramic brakes... All kinds of stuff you're able to order.
Sure, the price will escalate, but they are available.
This particular car doesn't have the ceramic brakes, but it does have the adaptive dampers...
and you'll immediately notice it's car which feels a lot tighter. Especially if you put the dampers in Sport,
there's almost no roll in the car. Also, the front tires of this car are as wide...
as the rear tires of the Alpine, so that raises the question:
Does that make the Cayman a better car. Yes, if you're just thinking about cornering speed.
There's more grip, it rolls less, the feedback in the steering wheel is better,
which makes it more precise. If you're driving the Alpine at these speeds,
you'll get the impression there's movement in the corner, but you won't get that in the Cayman.
You can push further, you can brake harder,
it all goes beyond you know. It's much more serious than the Alpine,
it's less playful, it's less fun.
So is it a better car when it comes to fun?
I'm inclined to say no, because sure, it's faster,
but on public roads? It's going to get a little yobbish...
and you'll start to get yourself and others in dangers. So it's quicker, but you won't show that on public roads.
Right then, is it better? Yes. Is it more fun? No.
And then there's the downside to this car: the drivetrain.
More specifically, the engine, because the double clutch PDK-gearbox is fantastic.
Sure, the gear ratio's are a tad too long, You'll do over 100 km/h in second,
so you won't have to shift a lot if you're driving on a country road, but when it comes to the speed of the gear changes...
Especially if you put it in Sport Plus, if shift down a few gears...
You almost don't hear it changes down multiple gears, it's just immediately available.
It's just there and it comes with such violence...
It gives you so much control and that's really sensational,
but the 2.0-litre flat-four it's connected to...
Well, the throttle response is about the same as the Alpine, so it's not better or anything.
It hammers and it rumbles and it sounds very industrial, which is very fun if it's a Subaru Impreza with a huge wing,
but for a sports car... It's not very refined.
It just sounds industrial, a little raw. I don't like that.
It has a sports exhaust function, but if you engage that,
the noise just increases. It starts rumbling even louder.
That's like talking to somebody you don't like at a party and when he raises his voice,
you like him out of nowhere. That's not going to happen.
So everything put together... It's a fantastic car,
but when it comes to sensation and proper fun, it's not better than the Alpine.
Then there's the Alpine's price advantage, because even though the entry prices are pretty similar,
but you'll get almost everything as standard in the Alpine. In the Cayman, even the cruise control is an option.
If you want all of the options on the Cayman, the price difference escalates pretty quickly.
Of course, you'll get something back for that.
It could be possible that when I fill in the scorecard, the Porsche still wins.
There are a few things on that scorecard in which the Porsche wins. Think of cabin space, ergonomics, finishing...
This Alpine just is a simplistic, puristic drivers car. But after driving them for an afternoon,
I know what car I'd like to take home. Spoiler alert: it's not the Porsche.