While the A110 Berlinette remains Alpine’s most celebrated classic, the French marque’s history includes a more radical chapter that is finally receiving its due. In 1971, Alpine introduced the A310, a rear-engined fibreglass wedge with six headlights, designed to challenge the Porsche 911. Though it never unseated Stuttgart’s icon, the A310 delivered the most distinctive silhouette Alpine has ever produced. Marking 55 years since the four-cylinder original and 50 since the V6 version, Alpine has unveiled the A310 Vision concept at the 2026 Paris Motor Show.
To shape the new design, Alpine’s stylists placed an original A310 in the middle of their studio and sketched around it, imagining how the wedge might look if conceived in 2026 rather than 1971. The resulting concept measures 179.1 inches long, nearly 80 inches wide across its pronounced rear hips, and stands a dramatically low 46.5 inches tall. Upper surfaces feature raw aluminium bodywork, while a blacked-out lower section with organic, Formula 1-inspired surfacing anchors the form. Particularly striking are the wheels, machined into a triangular “A” motif that references the steel rims of the earliest production cars.
Details further elevate the Vision’s character. Headlights tuck into a crease along the nose and reveal themselves on start-up in a clever “pop-down” sequence that inverts the classic pop-up cliché of the wedge era. An S-duct channels air through the hood, and a “Y zero” blade runs along the spine toward a split rear wing rendered in frosted, ice-like transparency. Even the blade-shaped taillights contribute downforce. Beneath the semi-transparent canopy lie colour-blocked seats and physical controls inspired by high-end hi-fi equipment, blending tactile elegance with modern minimalism.
Although Alpine maintains that the A310 Vision is purely a creative exploration rather than a production preview, the concept rides on the brand’s new Alpine Performance Platform, which is the same architecture destined for the upcoming electric A110. The company has confirmed plans for a reborn A310 as a 2+2 electric model around 2028, with test mules already spotted. Many observers suspect the Vision will strongly influence that future car, and given its dramatic presence, enthusiasts will hope it does. For now, the one-off remains on display in Paris, a bold reminder of Alpine’s willingness to revisit and reimagine its most radical past.
