What a Car - UK - (2020-04)

76 April 2020 whatcar.com

COMPARISON

The Alpine A110 S and Porsche 718

Cayman T promise to be even sharper

to drive than their regular siblings. Let’s

see which one has the  ner edge

Photography: John Bradshaw and Will Williams

A hardcore

act to follow

THECONTENDERS enjoys track days or just wants

something a little more focused.

Something like the new Porsche

718 Cayman T, in fact. While the T

uses the same 2.0-litre engine

as the entry-level Cayman, it has

active engine mounts to enhance

stability, a 20mm lower ride height

and torque vectoring to improve

agility, and a limited-slip diff for

better traction out of corners.

DRIVING

Performance, ride,

handling, re nement

In addition to producing slightly

more power than the Cayman, the

A110 is 236kg lighter. That’s the

equivalent of unloading a baby

elephant, so it’s hardly surprising

that the A110 accelerates faster;

0-60mph takes 4.7sec, compared

with 5.4sec in the Cayman.

It’s not just at traffi c lights that

the A110 has the advantage, either;

put your foot down on the move

and it will also pull away from

its German rival. However, it’s

Alpine A110

1.8 S

List price £56,180

Target Price £56,180

Porsche 718 Cayman

2.0 T

List price £52,965

Target Price £52,965

The regular A110 is currently our

favourite sports car, but is this

faster S version even better?

Porsche has raided the Cayman

options list, with the aim of

delivering greater thrills.

worth noting that if you specify

your Cayman with the optional

seven-speed dual-clutch automatic

gearbox instead of the six-speed

manual that our car came with, the

difference in performance shrinks.

The manual has different

strengths, most notably one of the

sweetest shift actions in any car.

And this is enhanced by the T’s

stubby, shortened gearlever.

As for the A110, it has a seven-

speed dual-clutch auto ’box

as standard, with no manual

available. But while some might

bemoan this, there’s a lot to like;

it’s as smooth as a conventional

auto in its most relaxed setting,

holds on to lower gears for longer

if you switch to Sport mode, and

defaults to manual mode (you pull

paddles behind the steering wheel)

to deliver properly quick shifts

when it’s in its Track setting.

As good as the A110 is in a

straight line, though, it’s even

better through corners. This S

version grips a little harder than

the regular A110 and leans less,

does have: the fact that it allows

you to bring less luggage than a

budget airline and comes with an

infotainment system that makes

a ZX Spectrum feel sophisticated.

Instead, its engineers focused on

changing the driving experience,

which was already sensational.

However, according to Alpine, the

S’s fi rmer suspension and extra

39bhp weren’t necessarily to make

it a better car, but one that appeals

to a different buyer: someone who

IF YOU GRIND your teeth in

annoyance whenever you hear a

footballer talk about giving 110%,

the arrival of the new Alpine A110

S may well have your dentist on

alert. After all, exceeding 100%

isn’t possible, so how can the S be

worth 10% more than the regular

A110 when that’s already our Sports

Car of the Year and therefore as

close to perfect as such cars get?

It’s not even as if Alpine has

addressed the few fl aws the A110

NEW NEW