Why are famous sports cars gone?

From the Renault 8 Gordini of the mid-1960s to the Clio RS of the 2010s not to mention the legendary GTI of the 1980s, iconic sports cars have left their mark on automotive history. The punishment killed them in the heat, and the electric shift will be just a reward.

The Alpine range will be completed from the ground up with this upgraded Renault 5 E-Tech Electric variant.© Didier RIC

In 1965, Renault launched its Gordini R8 which is the flagship model of the popular sports sedan offering sporty performance at an affordable price. Grandfather of GTI in short. It launched a long line in the diamond series that ended 50 years later with the disappearance of the Renault Clio 4 RS.

Because in 2025, the 220 hp Alpine A290, which is none other than the tracksuit version of the electric Renault 5 E-Tech, will no longer be popular. First with its “Alpine” brand which is now the high-end sports label of the Renault group as well for its price which should start around €40,000. For the record, at the beginning of 2013, the Renault Clio 4 RS EDC 200 was around €25,000.

Volkswagen ID.2 GTI: except but at what price?

To answer the Alpine A290, Volkswagen will offer the ID.2 GTI in its electric range.© L’Automobile magazine

In their future that will be electric, small sports cars will only place themselves in the field of payment. Mini Cooper SE, Cupra Raval, Lancia Ypsilon HF, Alpine A290, but also the later DS 3 “Performance” will testify to this. The only exception that proves the rule, the Volkswagen ID.2 GTI promised by a concept car at the IAA show in Munich in September 2023 and will be available in 2026.

But on the one hand Volkswagen has more than any car brand the validity of the GTI label that it invented with the Golf I in 1975. And on the other hand, the Wolfsburg manufacturer must restore its electric image as soon as possible with the image. a car that the VW ID.3 GTX is not capable of doing. However, the selling price of the ID.2 GTI will not be high! GTI (€16,790 in 2017).

At Stellantis, play is now the number one priority

The strongest version of the Alfa Romeo Junior will benefit from a 240 hp electric motor.© Alfa Romeo

At Stellantis, big boss Carlos Tavares has decided. Small sports cars will be the business of the group’s best brands. Among the smaller models will be the Abarth 600, Alfa Romeo Junior (formerly Alfa Romeo Milano) as well as the Lancia Ypsilon HF and DS 3 Performance that we talked to you about above which will have the right to a 240 hp electric engine. And this even if Peugeot since its 104 ZS and of course its 205 GTI, a small sports car would not be a hair’s breadth away. An E-208 boosted from 156 to 240 hp is not on the agenda. Destruction.

Still the most active architect of Alpine’s rebirth, while working at Renault, Mr. Tavares. today he no longer wants to hear about driving pleasure from a general consumer brand. About 10 years ago, the Peugeot RCZ sports group, the French-style Audi TT learned this the hard way.