'It makes Lambos look like everyday Ubers': Rare Alpine A310 spotted in Australia

10/03/2024 05:00 PM

This 1979 Alpine A310 was spotted in Sydney this week, with the alternative classic sports car getting tongues wagging on social media.

These photos of the A310 were posted to the Exotic Car Spotting Australia's Facebookgroup, with most users seemingly in awe at the sight of the rare French icon.

"A310? Definitely the upper echelon of exotics," one commenter wrote, while another remarked, "Now this is exotic! And rare… it makes Lambos look like everyday Ubers."

The 1979 Alpine A310 is powered by a 2.7-litre V6 engine developed in collaboration between Peugeot, Renault, and Volvo (PRV), and capable of a 0-100km/h sprint in approximately 7.8 seconds.

According to multiple sources, only 1381 examples of the 1979 A310 were produced, of 11,616 in to total between 1971 and 1984.

While A310 production stopped in 1984, the performance offshoot of Renault is set to bring a reborn electric A310 to market in 2027.

According to a September 2023 report by UK publication Autocar,the new A310 is part of Alpine's plans to introduce seven electric models by 2030.

Key figures within the French car brand said the revived A310 sports will utilise Alpine's Performance Platform (APP) which will see the electric sports car with four seats instead of the flagship two-seater version.

Alpine's Design director, Antony Villain, previously said: "We want to do a 2+2 sports car, and of course sometime in the past, we had the A310, so we will bring these two ideas as a first intention."

"Our work now is to frame the [APP] platform that we're working on, and the final design will be finished in a year and a half," he added.

Alpine is just one of a few car manufacturers reviving classic models as electric variants, with parent company Renault showing a battery-powered concept for its R17 two-door sports car at this year's Paris motor show.

 However, Renault has confirmed the R17 electric – which sees the original 1.6-litre inline four-cylinder engine replaced with a 201kW all-electric powertrain – will remain a concept and will not enter into production.

Similarly, Hyundai previously announced it planned to launch a 'high-performance EV' version of the N Vision 74 in 2030, with Drive previously uncovering a 'Hyundai N74' trademark which was filed in September 2023.

While the South Korean car maker was rumoured to produce 100 examples of the N Vision 74, a recent report by local publication iNews24 claimed an unnamed source within the brand said the production schedule was cancelled.

When approached for comment, a Hyundai spokesperson told iNews24, "The concept car is intended to showcase our future direction."

"The production schedule remains open, and no definitive decisions have been made regarding its cancellation," they added.

The post 'It makes Lambos look like everyday Ubers': Rare Alpine A310 spotted in Australia appeared first on Drive.