The Alpine A110 R is billed as the ultimate version of the featherweight French sportscar. But after driving it, Henry Catchpole began wondering what the R in its name might stand for. After pondering a few possibilities, he finally hit upon the answer, which doesn’t lie with the Alpine F1 team as you might expect but rather with the greatest hot hatch of all time.

A quick look at the Alpine A110 R’s numbers could also have you questioning why it commands such a price premium over the original and S variants of the A110; It has no more power than the A110 S and the weight savings are a relatively minimal 34kg or 75lb. But dig a little deeper and it’s clear why the R very much deserves its top billing.

For a start, the weight saving has been hard-won and strategic. For example, the standard buckets were an already trim 13.1kg (28lb 14oz) each, but the R has managed to shave another 2.5kg (5lb 8oz) off that figure. The carbon fibre wheels by Duqueine might give you sleepless nights if you have to park next to high kerbs on a frequent basis, but they do save an impressive 12.5kg (27lb) of unsprung, rotating mass.

This means that the unchanged 296bhp and 251lb ft has just 1082kg (2385lb) to push around. Combined with Michelin Cup 2 tyres, this sees the 0-62mph time drop to just 3.9sec, so the R is no slouch in a straight line. However, it’s in the corners where it comes alive: New springs from Eibach, 20-way adjustable dampers from ZF and bump stops by BASF all combine to create magic in the ride and handling department.

We hope you enjoy this latest episode, with its incredible drone footage from the team of Glenn Winhall and Ben Cornish. Feel free to show your appreciation in the comments down below or just tell us whether you’d rather have an A110 R or a Porsche Cayman GT4! If you’d like to help support the show and the Hagerty YouTube channel in general, then please think about leaving a thumbs up, subscribing or even joining the Hagerty Drivers Club (https://bit.ly/Join-HDC-Henry) - any or all would be very much appreciated. Thank you.

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