For all of the rumors and concepts we've seen in recent years with Alpine badges on them, we haven't seen any actual cars, or even any solid plans from Renault's high performance sub-brand. But speaking with Auto Express, Renault's executive vice president Bruno Ancelin gave some official genuine details on the return of Alpine. A lot of it is still pretty vague, but it has been announced that the first new model will be named AS1, and that Alpine is actually aiming it at Porsche and Audi.

We couldn't say whether it will take on the 911 and R8 or if the rivalry will take place a bit further down the totem pole, but it's exciting either way. The platform was developed in a partnership between Renault and Caterham, and although the partnership has since dissolved, the platform is actually finished. Ancelin went on to say that a brand cannot exist on one model alone, and that there will need to be something else, quite possibly an SUV or a hybrid. But the key thing is to have a lightweight sports car as the main model, and that's what we're really looking forward to seeing.