Alpine isn't ready to (completely) say goodbye to combustion engines just yet. The French sports car brand is developing an electric successor to the A110, but it may still offer a gasoline-powered derivative. Speaking to Top Gear magazine, Alpine's UK managing director Nicola Burnside said the company hasn't ruled out fitting an internal combustion engine into the next-generation sports car.

The executive pointed out the new Alpine Performance Platform (APP) is flexible enough to accommodate different powertrains. However, don't get your hopes up just yet. That doesn't mean an ICE-powered A110 is already in the works. The Renault-owned brand remains committed to launching the new model as an EV and believes it can improve on the outgoing sports car without gasoline.

"The old A110 was brilliant, and so for us to bring out the electric version, it must be better," Burnside told the British publication. She added that Alpine is confident it can take the driving experience "up a level again" despite the switch to electric power.

The company isn't ruling out combustion simply because any gas-powered derivative would have to improve on the current A110. Dropping an engine into the new platform wouldn't justify bringing back the old powertrain.

"We've not closed anything off, but we are fully committed to EV, because we genuinely believe that we can build something really special that takes it another level up from the current A110. And that was such a benchmark," Burnside explained.

Alpine has already revealed some interesting details about its electric sports car.

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