The Twitter spats won’t be half as fiery after the Alpine GT X-Over’s reveal as they were when we first heard about the Lotus Eletre or McLaren’s plans for a high-riding 2+2.
Those are heavy, wide-set and noiseless propositions from storied marques that have always been renowned for producing cars at the polar opposite end of the spectrum. Alpine, on the other hand, has the benefit of, in effect, starting fresh. Yes, it has a sporting legacy to protect – and it will do so with a new-gen Alpine A110 – but it has been back on the scene for just five years and will only survive if it can grow. And so grow it must with a bigger and more family-oriented model.
It will hardly be the most offensive of the breed, either, focusing overtly as it will on keeping weight and complexity down while putting dynamics at the forefront of its priorities. A two-row A110 it will not be, that’s for sure, but there are few family haulers on sale that can boast genuine F1 team-fettled aero, so there’s potential here for a bona fide game-changer.