Renault Alpine roadster news - Alpine lift - 2008

Is Renault set to revive the Alpine name? If we're talking about the fondly remembered French sports car brand rather than the similarly spelled breakfast cereal, then yes. Probably.

Renault chiefs have hinted that a two-seater, rear-drive roadster will arrive in 2011, bearing the Alpine name. Conceived as a rival to the Mazda MX-5, it is expected to be 'affordable and lightweight'. We approve.

Alpine traditionally produced cars based on rear-mounted Renault engines, but the brand died out in 1994. However, the Alpine factory is still used to produce RenaultSport models.

It seems likely that the Alpine will be built on a modified version of the Nissan 350Z's platform - Renault and Nissan have been sharing technology and architecture since 1999 - but it won't be a direct rival for Nissan's Z-car.

Best guesses are that the Alpine will be powered by a blown four-pot developing around 220bhp - well short of the 350Z's 309bhp.

Which also raises the possibility that we could see a similar small Nissan roadster around the same time - a 200SX replacement, perhaps?

OK, so there's a bit of speculation at play here... but any speculation that might yield a pair of lightweight rear-drive roadster - and gives us the excuse to run a photo of an old-school rally car - suits us just fine.