Alpine A110 vs Lexus RC

What's the difference?

Dieppe. A pretty seaside community on the northern French coast. Established a mere thousand years ago, it's copped a hammering in various conflicts, yet retained its beautiful 'marine promenade', a handy reputation for top-notch scallops, and for the last 50-odd years, one of the world's most respected performance carmakers.

Alpine, the brainchild of one Jean Rédélé - racing driver, motorsport innovator, and automotive entrepreneur - is still located on the southern edge of town.

Never officially imported into Australia, the brand is virtually unknown here to all but committed enthusiasts, with Alpine having an illustrious rally and sportscar racing back-story including victory in the 1973 World Rally Championship, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1978.

Rédélé was always committed to Renault, with the French giant eventually buying his company in 1973, and continuing to produce brilliant, lightweight road and racing Alpines until 1995.

After a close to 20-year hibernation, Renault reanimated the brand in 2012 with the stunning A110-50 concept racing car, and then the two-seat, mid-engine machine you see here, the A110.

It's clearly inspired by the Alpine of the same name that wiped the rallying floor clean in the early 1970s. Question is, does this 21st century version build or bury that car's iconic reputation?

If it wasn’t for this review appearing on your screen right now, would you have even remembered the Lexus RC was a thing?

At the time of writing, the RC is actually the fifth most popular model in its sports car segment. Yep, only the two-door versions of the Mercedes-Benz C-Class and E-Class, and BMW 4 Series and Z4 sell better.

So, why is the RC seemingly invisible? But more importantly, does it deserve to be? Let’s test the RC 350 F Sport to find out.