To celebrate the centenary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Alpine has unveiled a lightly tweaked A110 R limited to just 100 units

In the build-up to this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, Alpine has unveiled a special-edition version of the track-focused A110 R to celebrate 100 years of the iconic motor race. Aptly named the A110 R Le Mans, the limited-run model features a series of unique styling touches as well as a bespoke suspension tune tailored for the demands of the high-speed Circuit de la Sarthe.

Each Le Mans edition is finished in a white and blue livery that’s unique to the model, and as with the standard A110 R, the car has been decorated with carbonfibre panels and aero extensions to cut weight and add downforce – the bonnet, roof and rear window blanking panel are all fashioned from the material. Le Mans logos have also been applied to the R’s front wings and carbon sill extensions, while blue stripes run down the middle of the car, and there are more blue accents on the rear wing end fences and carbon wheels, the latter of which have adopted a more open design at the rear for better brake cooling.

Taking inspiration from Alpine’s A480 Le Mans hypercar, the special edition has gained a small shark fin ahead of the rear wing, although there’s no word on whether this improves the car’s aero performance. For reference, the standard R gains an extra 29kg of downforce over the aero kit-equipped A110 S, while reducing drag by 5 per cent.

With the R’s 296bhp 1.8-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine behind the seats, the Le Mans edition doesn’t offer a tangible gain in straight-line performance over the similarly powerful A110 S, sprinting to 62mph in 3.9 seconds and running on to a 177mph top speed.

Instead, the R majors on cornering ability, with a highly adjustable suspension set-up featuring stiffer roll bars, Eibach springs and ZF dampers, which work with a set of sticky Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres. For the special edition, Alpine claims to have set up the hardware for better performance through fast corners like those found at Le Mans.

Inside, the A110 R Le Mans has the same stripped-back ambience as the standard R, with carbonfibre bucket seats, Sabelt harnesses and suede trim. A metal plaque denotes the build number of each of the 100 examples that will be produced, while further nods to Le Mans include stitched headrest logos and an engraved map of the track on the sun visors.