Return of alpine?

[mycar]

Purchasing any car other than a Boxter is madness.

Madness I tell you !!

[Sam]

If only some other car had been built that weighed about 1100kg and had about 240bhp, but had a manual gearbox and enough room for 2 weeks luggage, or maybe even 2 small passengers in the back.

I’m sure I’d rather the Alpine as a daily driver, but for a 2 week holiday, and as a piece of engineering and design, the car being stitched back together in Sladey’s garage had it licked 35 years ago.

[sladey]

Agree on both counts - hence the rush to get mine back on the road before spa classic

[Goodwood]

Good morning all, if anyone wants too stop by for a coffee I am the Alpine specialist based down at Orpington. We are currently planning our 2020 events in the UK including selected trackdays for customers as well as shows & events, so hopefully i will get to meet a few DDKers in person,
Regards Gavin

[23e Heure]

Mark: How have you been getting on with the car?

[sladey]

Really loving it thanks.

Took it to spa historic races back in September- had some spirited runs on the country roads and it was great. I’d previously been Using manual all the time (because it’s a sports car) but I tried ‘D’ in sport mode- I found that worked really well - the downshifts for a corner were spot on- so I’ve stayed using that mode since.

Issues:- I’ve had a cracked windscreen (small crack in the corner) which just appeared after about 2 months. I knew this had affected some early cars. Alpine are replacing it (obvs) - it goes in next month.

I drive it every day, and apart from visiting the dealer I’ve only seen one other and that was back in January.

[sng45]

Really loving it thanks.

Took it to spa historic races back in September- had some spirited runs on the country roads and it was great. I’d previously been Using manual all the time (because it’s a sports car) but I tried ‘D’ in sport mode- I found that worked really well - the downshifts for a corner were spot on- so I’ve stayed using that mode since.

Issues:- I’ve had a cracked windscreen (small crack in the corner) which just appeared after about 2 months. I knew this had affected some early cars. Alpine are replacing it (obvs) - it goes in next month.

I drive it every day, and apart from visiting the dealer I’ve only seen one other and that was back in January.

I recently went to "A night with Gordon Murray" hosted by Motorsport Magazine, a great event and when asked what he drove as his everyday car, Gordon said he had an Alpine, which was " the best modern car he'd driven in years " his only issue was that it "was a bit big" but if you check his collection out, it consists of a number of Lotus 7's, Fiat 500,s, Lotus Elan etc so hardly surprising the Alpine is a bit on the big side. He was very complimentary about it.

[Lightweight_911]

I think Gordon Murray did actually use an Alpine on a regular basis for a while - I seem to remember reading that he had said that if the Alpine was 100mm narrower it would be the perfect car.

I met & had a long conversation with him a couple of years ago at Paul Matty's when I was looking at an Elan & he was dropping his S3 off for some work.

His car collection (which is made up of relatively affordable cars) includes many that would be on my 'wish list' too & he told me that one of his main criteria is that cars have to weigh less than 1000 kg - & ideally less than 800kg - I think the only exception (as far as 'classics' go) is a Ford Thunderbird.

.

[sng45]

Good feature on the Alpine in "EVO" magazine this month.

[23e Heure]

I don’t need one, but I still want one!

If I were to move to France and live out of town, I’d have one for sure.

But if a move happens any time soon more likely work would take me to LA (they must be impossibly rare there?) or KL (don’t get me started)

Keep enjoying it Mark, and please share some pics of you doing so.

[sladey]

Will do James. Would be VERY rare in LA as they aren't sold in the US

[Bootsy]

I don’t need one, but I still want one!

If I were to move to France and live out of town, I’d have one for sure.

But if a move happens any time soon more likely work would take me to LA (they must be impossibly rare there?) or KL (don’t get me started)

Keep enjoying it Mark, and please share some pics of you doing so.

I’d recommend LA over Kings Lynn to be honest

[23e Heure]

Hey Mark.
Still enjoying the car?
Any chance of a “one year of ownership” update or thread?
I’m on an extended stay out in France, and one of these must live somewhere locally: it’s passed me (on my bike) several early mornings, and it’s really got me thinking again.