Welcome to the best thing we’ve seen so far this year – a higher-riding, wider Alpine A110 inspired by the rally cars of the company’s past.

Unfortunately the SportsX is not a third A110 derivative, to be sold alongside the standard car and stiffer, lower, more focussed A110S. It’s what the company calls a ‘styling exercise’ – a car cooked-up by presumably very bored engineers and designers that “explores a new facet of sportiness”.

(Click HERE to read about two lightweight 'heavyweights'!)

Based on the base-spec A110 Pure (which is actually all the A110 you really need), the body and track are 80mm wider than standard, meaning the SportsX isn’t that much narrower than a Range Rover. Meanwhile the ride height has been raised by a whopping 60mm for more ground clearance.

Alpine doesn’t say whether it’s done anything to the engine, so assume it uses the standard 1.8-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine making 252hp and 320Nm.

We’ll need a go to verify, naturally…

You cannot buy a A110 SportsX, and that, dear friends, is a crying shame.

However for €150k Alpine will sell you an A110 Rally, its Signatech-developed rally car available to privateer teams competing in the R-GT category.

STORY Tom Harrison