Alpine has unveiled the A310 Vision at the Paris Motor Show, a one-off design concept that reworks the shape of its 1970s A310 coupé. The company says the car is a design study and not a preview of a production model. It is also meant to show how much design freedom the brand’s new APP platform allows.

A tribute timed to two anniversaries

The concept marks two birthdays. The original four-cylinder Alpine A310 turns 55 this year, and the A310 V6 turns 50. Alpine’s in-house design team created the A310 Vision to celebrate both, and the manufacturer says it was not aiming for a faithful copy of the old car.

The A310 first appeared in 1971 as the follow-up to the Berlinette. It was known for its low, wide, angular wedge shape. Alpine says its designers kept an original A310 in the middle of the studio while they worked. They studied it by hand-sketching and examining its volumes and lines, with the aim of capturing the simple, expressive spirit of 1970s design.

Retro-futurism, not a remake

Alpine calls the result retro-futuristic. The idea is to imagine how the A310 might look if it were designed today with modern methods and materials. The concept borrows the clean lines of the early four-cylinder cars and the more muscular, wide-arched stance of the later V6 versions.

The proportions are dramatic. The car is 4.55 m (179 in) long and only 1.18 m (46.5 in) tall. At its widest point, across the rear, it measures 2.03 m (79.9 in), and the wheelbase is 2.45 m (96.5 in).

The bodywork is aluminium, set against a black lower section with organic shaping that Alpine says takes inspiration from Formula 1. The cabin sits under a semi-transparent bubble. The triangular “A”-shaped wheels refer to the solid metal wheels fitted to the earliest A310s.

Design details enabled by APP

Alpine presents the concept as a showcase for its new APP platform. According to the company, the platform is built to push sports-car limits while keeping a degree of modularity, and that gives designers room to try new proportions and volumes.

The details include:

  • headlights set into a fold in the nose, which drop into view at start-up in a “pop-down” effect
  • an “S-duct” channel in the bonnet
  • a central “Y zero” blade that runs the length of the car towards the rear
  • a two-part split rear wing with an ice-like transparency
  • blade-shaped rear lights that, Alpine says, also help generate downforce

A glimpse of the cabin

The concept is mainly an exterior study, but the tinted canopy gives a partial view of the interior. Inside are sculpted seats, blocks of bold colour and physical controls styled after hi-fi equipment. Alpine says the interior is meant to suggest a mood rather than show a finished cockpit.

What it means

Alpine’s range currently includes the A110 sports car, the A290 hot hatch and the A390 fastback. The A310 Vision gives no hints about future products. Its role is to show how the brand might read its own history as it develops its next sports cars on the APP platform. The company describes it as a way to reinterpret its heritage “without nostalgia”.

Facts: Alpine A310 Vision

  • Type: one-off design concept, not a production preview
  • Length: 4.55 m (179 in)
  • Height: 1.18 m (46.5 in)
  • Width: 2.03 m (79.9 in) at the rear
  • Wheelbase: 2.45 m (96.5 in)
  • Bodywork: aluminium
  • Platform: Alpine APP
  • Debut: Paris Motor Show 2026

The A310 Vision is on display at the Paris Motor Show.

Source: media.alpinecars.com