Less than two years after Renault and Caterham signed an agreement to develop a sports car it seems the partnership may be in trouble. The venture, under the name Societe des Automobiles Alpine Caterham, was to herald the return of the Alpine brand. Nonetheless, each company will continue to develop its own sports car and work together in Formula One.
Last month Autocar reported that the project had been delayed due to 'creative tensions' between the two partners. Under the agreement Renault was set to supply the powertrain while Caterham and Alpine versions would have different styling - using common architecture. Rumours are that initial reaction to the Alpine was unfavourable and the French wanted a restyle that pushed the launch date into 2016, a year later than first planned.
This week Renault briefed unions on unwinding the joint venture although the decision will not affect workers at the Dieppe plant where the Alpine will be assembled, as the Clio Renaultsport will be built there until 2018.
It is not clear how much shared hardware will remain between the two cars, but it is expected that the Alpine will have 250hp to the Caterham's 300hp figure. The target weight for both cars is 1,100kg.
Anything else?
Neither Renault nor Caterham has made an official announcement about the future of the project. We just hope that both cars do eventually make it to production.