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Motor AuthorityDespite the millions spent by Renault on its F1 team and its past success in the competition, translating these efforts to its production cars is largely a moot point because Renault’s lineup is seriously lacking in the sports car department. Renault currently uses the RenaultSport RS moniker for its performance models but there has been speculation in the recent past that there could be a revival of the legendary Alpine name.
Renault bosses have confirmed in the past that there are plans to bring back the Alpine name but a new report by Autocar claims those plans have been scrapped as the carmaker attempts to reduce its costs.
The information came from Renault COO Patrick Pelata who told reporters that the decision to scrap the Alpine plans was a direct “casualty” of the economic crisis. Pelata also revealed that Renault’s plans to move production of its next-generation Clio hatch to Chenai, India, had also been dropped.
The original motivation behind the decision to rejuvenate the Alpine badge was the success Fiat was experiencing with its Abarth label. Like Abarth, Alpine was an independent manufacturer of racing and sport cars that eventually merged with a major carmaker, in this case Renault.
Pictured above is the 2006 Alpine 210 RS concept car, a modern interpretation of the original Alpine race cars from the 1960 and ’70s.
