The Alpine A110 R Ultime has lapped the ‘Ring 20 seconds faster than the standard R

We all knew the A110 R ‘Ultime’ was going to be faster than the R… but what we didn’t realise was just how much faster. Now we know, Alpine confirming the Ultime has dropped 20 seconds over the R’s Nürburgring time of 7m 35s.

That puts the Ultime at 7m 15s, over 18 seconds quicker than a G87 M2, itself a reasonably fast coupe, and just off the pace of a Lexus LFA Nürburgring Package. Holy schmoly.

So, where have the gains come from? Firstly with aero: the new carbon elements across the body, plus the additional inlets and scoops in sections like the bonnet and bumpers, means the Ultime gains an extra 160kg of downforce over the R.

Alpine’s also bolted on a bigger, spool-ier turbo, bumping power and torque up to 345bhp and 310lb ft. Channelled through a snappier version of the six-speed auto ‘box, it even hits 62mph in just 3.8s.

All this extra pace does come at a cost though. £276k for a maxed-out ‘La Bleue’ version of France’s latest lightweight track toy, to be exact. Reckon it’s worth the price tag?