Alpine A110 R Le Mans celebrates French race's centennial

Alpine has unveiled a special version of its A110 sports car to mark this year's 100th anniversary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The new A110 R Le Mans edition was revealed on Wednesday at Le Mans' Circuit de la Sarthe and taken out onto the racetrack by racing driver Sophia Flörsch. Just 100 will be built, and order books open on Thursday, Alpine has confirmed. The price is set at 140,000 euros (approximately $150,000).

The A110 R Le Mans is based on Alpine's hardcore A110 R that debuted last fall. The car is powered by the same mid-mounted 1.8-liter turbo-4 found in other A110 variants, and delivers a peak output of 296 hp. Like all A110 variants, The A110 R Le Mans sends its drive to the rear wheels via a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.

Unique to it is the combination of white for the main body and blue for the accents. The blue color extends to the A110 R's standard carbon-fiber wheels, as well as the brake calipers, rear wing end plates, and various Le Mans logos that litter the car. A small fin is also attached to the rear carbon-fiber cover as a nod to the central fin commonly found on Le Mans-style sports prototypes.

For the interior, the headrests of the standard Sabelt bucket seats features a Le Mans logo, and the layout of the Circuit de la Sarthe is laser-engraved on the sun visor.

Performance numbers include a 0-62 mph time of 3.9 seconds and a top speed of 177 mph.

This year's 24 Hours of Le Mans runs this weekend. Alpine will also present on the sidelines of the event its LMDh race car that will compete from 2024 in the FIA World Endurance Championship, the series whose highlight is the Le Mans race.

While Alpine doesn't currently operate in the U.S., there is mounting evidence the brand is looking to launch here eventually. Its CEO in January said U.S. sales is a key goal for the brand. Reports then followed in February that Alpine may partner with dealership group AutoNation to sell cars in the U.S., and later this month a specially prepared A110 will tackle the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.