Renault Reviving Alpine Brand: Report

Renault has already resurrected the famous Gordini colours, and new reports this week suggest the Alpine badge is next in line for a comeback.

The report, in Britain's Autocar magazine, follows confirmation in 2009 that the global economic crisis had moved Renault to cancel plans for a new Alpine model.

While earlier reports had pointed to Nissan 370Z-based Renault sports car, the French carmaker is now believed to be developing a coupe on an all-new modular platform.

Speaking with Britain's Autocar magazine, Renault product manager Beatrice Foucher said that the new platform will also underpin the next-generation Megane and a new Laguna Coupe (which was not offered in Australia with the last generation).

“We need conventional cars as well as well as innovative cars,” Foucher told Autocar.

“ You can do lots of different cars off the platform. It’s very early stages, but we will have at least one coupe in the line-up."

As for Alpine, Foucher said that the famed RenaultSport arm is already involved in the development of the new platform and that the company is "working on Alpine". 

"It’s a possibility and we’re looking at what an Alpine would be in a Renaultsport line-up."

Foucher added that the Alpine badge could take a similar position in the Renault line-up that the DS name covers for the Citroen range, focusing instead on upmarket coupes and crossovers.