Alpine A110 vs Porsche 911

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?

The icon is electric. Well, kind of.

This is the new Porsche 911 Carrera GTS, which ushers in a facelift for the brand’s most famous model — and it’s one that introduces a pretty major change.

That faint whistling you hear is most likely the distant wails of the Porsche purists, because this new 911 is now a hybrid.

Yes, the Carrera GTS features Porsche’s clever T-Hybrid engine, which is the brand’s take on electrifying the world’s most famous sports car.

It’s faster than the model it replaces, but it also fundamentally alters the formula that has made the 911 the world’s most iconic sports car.

The question is, does it alter it for the better?