Renault opens Alpine plant, will build 6,000 per year

DIEPPE, France — Renault has invested in plant capacity to build up to 6,000 sports cars annually under the revived Alpine brand, the company said on Thursday, as it formally opened the new production line in Dieppe, northern France.

The French carmaker has spent 36 million euros ($42 million) upgrading the site, factory boss Pierre-Emmanuel Andrieux told reporters at an inauguration ceremony marking the return of Alpine, 22 years after Renault shut it down to cut costs.

In a nod to the history of the brand, founded in 1955, the new A110 will be produced in a limited edition of 1,955 vehicles, taking its name and styling from the best-known past model, sold between 1961 and 1977.

First shown at the Geneva car show earlier this year, the new A110 is priced at 58,000 euros (about $68,000), and its race-ready A110 Cup variant will cost 100,000 euros. The A110 will reach its first customers in the first quarter of 2018. But sadly, it won't be sold in the United States.

Reporting by Gilles Guillaume