Ravage Tarmac Master is the ultimate Alpine A110, designed by the man behind Valkyrie
Ravage’s latest creation, the Ultime‑based Tarmac Master, delivers an Alpine-supported final twist to the A110 story
Hardcore and highly developed, the Alpine A110 R Ultime is – as its name suggests – the final factory-built evolution of the fabulous Dieppe-built sports car. But now Ravage Automobile – French reimaginers of the A110 – have added an unexpected footnote to the model’s story with this, the spectacular Tarmac Master.
Though not described as an Ultime in official communications, the specification of the Tarmac Master could only be that of Alpine’s apex A110, with nose-to-tail chassis, powertrain and aerodynamic enhancements that elevate the familiar A110 to new heights of intensity and capability. Using a base car that benefits from the Ultime’s extensively uprated powertrain, chassis and aerodynamics, Ravage has applied a unique version of its own Groupe 4 wide-body conversion to further amplify Alpine’s own vision of the ultimate A110.
> Ravage Alpine A110: France's perfect sports car made even more perfect
Where the Ultime deliberately chases a raw, race-car aesthetic and looks for all the world like a road-legal GT4 competition car, the Tarmac Master continues the Groupe 4’s rally vibe, ramping-up the attitude but also bringing cleaner design details and a host of neat touches, exuding the technical precision and authentic function that has fast come to characterise Ravage’s work.
Track widths are up 50mm at the front and 90mm at the rear compared with the stock A110, increases that match the dimensions of the regular Ravage Groupe 4. The engine is Euro 6d emissions compliant, yet essentially built to GT4 spec by Oreca, with forged con-rods and pistons, a new turbo and a higher compression ratio.
As per the Ultime, running on regular 98 RON fuel the engine produces peaks of 316bhp at 6000rpm and 310lb ft between 3200 and 4200rpm. It can also run on SP102 race fuel to develop a new peak of 340bhp at 6000rpm while torque remains the same at 310lb ft but is sustained until 5600rpm. Performance figures are identical to the Ultime’s while mass remains a featherweight 1100kg.
Likewise the cooling system retains the Ultime’s repositioned radiators with hot air extracted from the top of the bonnet. The gearbox is the Ultime-spec six-speed DCT with a limited-slip differential. Suspension is by Öhlins, using the fully adjustable TTX damper with hydraulic bump-stops and uprated anti-roll bars. AP Racing brakes on aluminium bells increase stopping power but save weight, with new billet-machined forged wheels (8 inches wide at the front and 10 inches at the rear) adding a finishing touch.
Design-wise, most of the changes unique to the Tarmac Master centre on the front end. The look is a more pronounced departure from the regular Groupe 4, which stuck closely to the style and emotion of the standard A110. Instead, the Tarmac Master makes a virtue of the aggressively functional cooling and aerodynamic requirements while lifting the function-focused appearance of the stock Ultime to something that combines the same performance-enhancing purpose with a greater degree of design flair.
In so doing, Ravage has put a more overtly extreme stamp on the Tarmac Master’s front-end treatment, in the process unifying it with the already significantly modified mesh-grilled rear-end. The result is what Ravage co-founder and design lead Benoit Tallec describes as ‘a more 360-degree design’.
Unlike the Groupe 4, which was the sole work of Tallec, the Tarmac Master introduces a new name to the Ravage design team. It’s a big one, too, for prior to founding his own design studio – LO RE Design – Antonino Lo Re was at Aston Martin, where he drew the first concept sketches for the Valkyrie hypercar before leading the design development of the finished car.
Tallec and Lo Re go back a long way, both cutting their teeth at Renault Trucks(!) more than 20 years ago. The unlikely challenge of designing trucks taught both the value of drag-reducing aerodynamic efficiency before each went their own way – Tallec to Mercedes-Benz, Lo Re to AML – where they forged exceptional careers. Now, with the chance to collaborate on Ravage projects, Tallec allowed Lo Re to take the design lead on the Tarmac Master and ultimately fulfil the role of design director.
It’s an exciting development. One that adds further kudos to this project and signals the ambition within this small yet highly ambitious company. As Tallec explains, ‘I did the Groupe 4 alone, but Tarmac Master has been a collaboration with full freedom for Nino. It’s our first step to really expressing Ravage language. We want the design to speak to petrolheads but also possess elegance. We chase simplicity and purpose. Beauty not trends. If the shape has no function it is meaningless and boring, so we don’t do it.’
According to Tallec, the ultimate dream is to eventually do something more ambitious that really pushes beyond the A110 design. It’s too early to say what that might be, but the formidable pairing of Tallec and Lo Re and Ravage’s established reputation for immaculate work is an exciting prospect, and something we’ll be following with great interest. To date, Ravage has delivered 16 Groupe 4 cars, with production set to reach 15 cars per year by 2028.
The Tarmac Master comes at the very end of A110 production, with Alpine busy building the last of the Ultime’s 110 units. It’s worth noting that the Tarmac Master will not be taken from that limited production run. Instead, in a move that signals an official blessing from Alpine, the factory is building additional chassis: a maximum of ten cars to fulfil Ravage customer orders for the Track Master. The built cars will then be sent to O‑One – the race and restoration specialists Ravage already uses for the build of its Groupe 4 cars – for the Track Master transformation.
With a starting price of €295,000, the Track Master is €30,000 more than the Ultime, pushing the Alpine even further into supercar territory. At the time of writing, it was still possible to order a Tarmac Master in one of Alpine’s many optional paint colours, but that order window will soon close. Once that cut-off has passed, all remaining build slots will be supplied in gloss black with exposed carbon for the bonnet, roof and rear screen.
Being a Ravage, customers have the option of commissioning a repaint, be it a single colour of their choice for €13,000, or a more adventurous (and many times more expensive) scheme, such as that of the spectacular Philips-liveried Groupe 4 Ravage we drove late last year (evo 343). Similarly, interior retrims start at €10,000 but can cost much more depending on the customer’s vision.
To secure a build slot reservation, customers are required to place a €125,000 deposit, with the second payment due by September, a third instalment in January 2027 and the balance paid on delivery, which is scheduled for next spring.
There’s no doubting the Tarmac Master is a very particular car. One based upon an already niche iteration of the A110. Only those with a real passion for Alpine and an established appreciation (or newfound fascination) for Ravage are likely to commit. Those who do will be buying the rarest of all A110s, and a true French supercar. One that places its emphasis on Alpine’s long-standing obsession with lightweight efficiency and fuses it with Ravage’s meticulous approach to design.
It seems a travesty that production of the A110 should be finishing, but if it must end, the Tarmac Master provides a suitably special send-off for one of the great contemporary sports cars.
This story was first featured in evo issue 346.
