Fast Lane: Alpine U-turns on going fully electric, Cupra’s one-millionth car, S’pore Motorshow in 2026

Last petrol-powered Alpine in Singapore for now

Sports car brand Alpine, which comes under Renault, has said it will make only electric cars by 2026. Wearnes Automotive, the brand’s Singapore agent, has one last unit of the 1.8-litre, turbocharged, non-electric A110 in stock.

Wearnes’ spokeswoman told The Straits Times on Oct 16 that the factory in France is no longer taking orders for the two-seater sports car and cannot confirm when the next Alpine model will arrive in Singapore.

The fiery red model with a black roof on display at its Leng Kee Road showroom is an S model, which packs 300hp and has a factory-installed bodykit and active sport exhaust system. It is priced at $373,800 before the cost of the certificate of entitlement.

Unveiled in 2017 at the motor show in Geneva, the A110 is the modern interpretation of the successful race car that was made from the early 1960s to late 1970s. It marked Alpine’s rebirth as a standalone brand under Renault, although there has yet to be a second model after the A110.

As the automotive world pivots from conventional internal combustion engine to electric, Alpine had said production of the A110 will end in 2026, replacing it with a new electric-only version.

Now, it seems that Alpine may be rolling back its electric ambitions. The company’s chief executive Philippe Krief was recently quoted in British car magazine Evo as saying that the 2027 replacement for the A110 could come in both electric and petrol-hybrid forms. The car will be available not only as a two-seater coupe, but also a convertible as well as a four-seater version.

Alpine is not the only car brand to scale back its electrification plan. In September, Porsche’s chief executive Oliver Blume said the German brand’s next-generation Boxster and Cayman models will not be electric-only as earlier planned.

Instead, Porsche will also make combustion-engine versions of these cars. The executive said the decision was prompted by a clear drop in demand for fully electric cars.

Cupra produces its one-millionth car

Seven years since it was spun off from Spanish brand Seat to be a standalone brand, Cupra has made its one-millionth car.

The milestone unit is a Formentor e-Hybrid, a 1.5-litre turbocharged crossover vehicle that is assisted by an electric motor to produce a total power output of 268hp. Cupra is keeping the car as part of its historic collection.

In Singapore, Cupra was officially relaunched in March under Volkswagen Group Singapore, 10 months after the company took over the distributorship. Initially, only electric models were planned for Singapore, but Cupra has since expanded its

model portfolio to include mild-hybrid

models.

Zeekr’s Category A COE EV

The chic Zeekr X is the latest electric vehicle (EV) to have its power output tuned down to join the Category A certificate of entitlement (COE) bandwagon.

The latest version, known as Urban, has 110kW of power instead of 200kW of the Standard version, which remains on sale. At 66kWh, the battery capacity is identical to the higher output version, but the energy consumption is slightly higher, at 17.5kWh/100km, compared with 17.3kWh/100km of the 200kW Standard version.

The Urban takes 8.7 seconds to get from 0 to 100kmh, which is 3.1 seconds longer than the 200kW Standard.

The car remains as well-equipped as the Standard, with features like adaptive cruise control, automated parking, panoramic glass roof and 5G-connected service network.

 The Zeekr X Urban is priced at $214,999 with COE before discounts.

Bentley and Steinway & Sons in a black-and-white pairing

Bentley and Steinway & Sons partnered to launch a special Flying Spur Speed limousine and a limited-edition line of grand pianos at an event in Hamburg, Germany, on Oct 16.

Calling it a “celebration of monochrome”, the Bentley Flying Spur is finished in Arctic White, with an interior that is accented with Piano Black veneer inlays; while the Steinway created the Ultra Black and Ultra White pianos. Each limited-edition series consists of 18 Model B Concert Grands and eight Model D Concert Grands, bringing the total to 52 units, all of them produced entirely in Hamburg.

Marking the launch, the trio – consisting of the Flying Spur Speed paired with Steinway’s Ultra Black and Ultra White editions – will tour Europe for a series of concerts.

Singapore Motorshow back in January 2026

The Singapore Motorshow will be held at the Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre from Jan 8 to 11. It will feature 38 automotive brands across four levels. Newcomers to the annual event include Honda motorcycles and Chinese electric car brands Leapmotor, Hongqi and Nio.

Entrance tickets, priced at $10, will be available through Sistic. Go to

motorshow.com.sg

for more information.

GAC car showroom in Punggol Digital District

GAC is the latest car brand to set up a permanent showroom not within the Leng Kee Road motor belt. Located on the ground floor of Punggol Coast Mall, the Chinese company’s new space in Punggol Digital District will be officially opened on Oct 30. It will complement its existing showroom at Leng Kee Autopoint. Other car brands with showrooms away from the traditional motor belt include Audi, BYD and Porsche.

Funky Chery Omoda 4 EV

Chery unveiled the Omoda 4 at an event held at its headquarters in Wuhu, China, on Oct 20.

While details of the powertrain were not confirmed at the unveiling, the BYD Atto 3 rival is expected to be launched here in electric-only form in 2026.

The design is said to be inspired by science-fiction comics. Compared with the Omoda E5 that is currently on sale in Singapore, the new car looks more aggressive, with sharp and angular lines not too dissimilar to the Lamborghini Urus.