Alpine A110 S versus Lotus Emira V6 First Edition. 22 points of retained value between them — ~£176 per horsepower plays ~£135 on today’s market.
The Alpine A110 S is the purer driving machine. At 1114 kg it weighs 291 kg less than the Emira, and that gap defines the entire experience — the A110 S feels alive in a way that horsepower figures alone cannot explain. Reviewers consistently describe it as precise and focused, if slightly firmer than the standard car, and its 262 bhp-per-tonne power-to-weight ratio is genuinely addictive on a real road. The auction data is also reassuring: the A110 S is holding roughly 93% of its original £54,955 MSRP, suggesting the market has largely decided what this car is worth and is not heading anywhere dramatic. At around £176 per horsepower today, you are paying a slight premium for something that has already found its floor. The Lotus Emira V6 First Edition tells a different financial story. One model-wide auction result suggests it has dropped to around 71% of its £75,995 sticker — but that figure covers the broader Emira range and no First Edition-specific auction data exists yet, so treat it as a rough signal rather than settled fact. What it does mean is that the Emira's cost-per-horsepower on the used market has fallen to roughly £135, and 400 bhp with a supercharged V6 and a manual gearbox for that money is genuinely difficult to argue with. Our verdict: buy the Emira. The A110 S is the better car to drive on a favourite road, but the Emira offers more performance, a soundtrack worth paying for, and meaningfully better value per horsepower while its depreciation may not yet have settled.