Same thing. For French car people, Alpine is pretty much the Graal. Saying they could badge it as a Japanese car is like saying “Ferrari should just badge the 488 as a Chrysler”. Not happening.

They’re going to turn Alpine into a proper premium brand, next model will most likely be an SUV. In other words, it will have products viable anywhere. It wouldn’t make any sense to bring them stateside as Nissans. In fact I think there is no chance in hell of that ever happening, but I wouldn’t bet against them being…

I saw the “concept” (which is basically the same) at Rétromobile, there was no Cayman around to compare but I think the Alpine is quite a bit shorter. It might me wider, though.

Surely the GTA and A610 were already that heavy, no? It’s no good making a pure enthusiast’s car if no one’s going to buy it. The only thing that approaches the philosophy of the original Alpine is the Lotus Elise, and look how hard a time Lotus has been having since pretty much always.

Er... 60 or 70 ? I don’t remember.

I think 50,000€ was the common estimation.

Entirely bespoke RWD mid-engined aluminium platform. That much is known with absolute certainty. Engine is probably the same as the next Mégane RS, but that’s no bad thing.

It was a defining trait of the original that I believe they were very keen on preserving.

Come on. Just come on. It doesn’t. Not everything in the known universe looks like Audis.

Bring back steamers!

Nissan badge? Patrick, I don’t think you understand how much us French car people love Alpine. We love it more than we love Napoleon, Charles de Gaulle and Serge Gainsbourg put together. I don’t believe a single French higher-up at Renault-Nissan would ever greenlight a Nissan-badged Alpine. I’m pretty sure if they…

Clean-sheet formula racing is an oxymoron.

Pininfarina can be brilliant but also lazy as fuck. Sometimes two carmakers come to them around the same time, and they just give them both the exact same design. Look at the Peugeot 605 and Alfa Romeo 164.

430. Straight-up unworthy of the Ferrari name.

Renault Trucks Defence (along with its subsidiary Panhard) is absolutely central to the Scorpion program that will see a complete replacement of the thousands of medium armoured vehicles in service in the French Army (VAB, AMX-10RCR and ERC-90 Sagaie), the French government will sooner nationalise it than let it…

Yeah, but the French P4s have never been upgraded significantly, so I don’t think they’re as good as the Canadian or German G-Wagen. So it’s not a bad idea to replace them.

The weird ACMAT plastic grille definitely makes it look like one, yeah.

It’s quite true, the annoying part is that even folded up it takes up a lot of space in one’s wallet.

Yes indeed. Although Volvo Trucks are selling their entire defence arm, and it might fall back into French hands.

How could he be a Nazi, since he’s an FSB agent?