Alpine and Lotus have ended their collaboration on the development of a new electric sports car, widely understood to be the successor to the Alpine A110.
The two firms signed a memorandum of understanding in January 2021, agreeing to conduct a “comprehensive feasibility study” for the car.
In a statement issued today, Alpine said: “Lotus and Alpine have been collaborating on a future EV sports car vision for more than two years, during which time a strong relationship between the two companies has developed.
“As with any collaboration following an MoU [Memorandum of Understanding], the outcome was not guaranteed.
“We have decided not to progress with the joint development of a sports car for Alpine. This is a mutual decision reached amicably, and we will continue to discuss other future opportunities.”
The next-generation A110 is slated to be the third of three models to arrive from Alpine’s ‘dream garage’ of EVs, following next year’s Renault 5-based A290 hot hatch and the GT X-Over crossover.
Under the MoU, the A110 was planned to share a chassis and technologies with the Lotus Type 135 – itself a spiritual successor to the Lotus Elise – including having its battery cells stacked vertically behind the driver. This would allow the seats to be placed lower than if the car used a conventional skateboard-style EV platform and would bring the weight to the centre of the chassis, like in a mid-engined sports car.
Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi previously told Autocar: “Lotus and us share the same preoccupation, which is trying to make light, agile sports cars while obviously adding weight and electrifying.
