FRENCH sports car maker Alpine is to produce a special edition of its A110 coupe to mark the centenary of the Le Mans 24 hour race.

With a 300bhp engine and a weight of just over one tonne, the car has a 0 to 62mph acceleration time of 3.9 seconds and a top speed of 177mph.

It has a price of around £120,000 and the special has a limited run. Just 100 models will be made and the car is based on the high performance A110 R.

The changes for the Le Mans model are cosmetic only and include a white and blue livery and bucket sports seats.

It also has a carbon wing evoking the endurance racing cars style and Alpine Elf Endurance Team's A480 design

The A110 R Le Mans limited series comes with a Road and Track chock, an innovation patented by Alpine, which lowers and stiffens the car by five per cent for improved stability on the track.

It also carries a numbered plate from the Dieppe factory with the official 24 Hours of Le Mans signature to mark the 100 examples of this iconic version of the A110 R.

Alpine has been involved in endurance racing since the 1960s, thanks to its founder Jean Redele, right up to the victory of the A442 in 1978.

The marque has stepped up its endurance racing with Signatech in LMP2 and then LMP1 and is now looking to the future by taking on the new LMDh Hypercar category from 2024.

The regular A110 R costs from £89,990 - an increase of some £28,000 over the A110 S and GT models.