Renault’s long-awaited sportscar takes another step closer to production status as the Alpine Vision concept is readied for its Geneva Motor Show debut.

The mid-engined two-seater coupé was unveiled by Renault Boss Carlos Ghosn at an event in Monte Carlo; a location that alludes to the original Alpine’s successes in the Monte Carlo Rally.

The Renault Alpine Vision concept gets a low, sleek silhouette with sculpted sides and muscular-looking rear haunches, while the front sports a toned-down version of the 2012 concept’s rally car foglamp-aping light nacelles.

Inside, Renault has utilised a mixture of racing-inspired materials such as carbon fibre, leather and fabric against a facia architecture that incorporates a row of toggle switches on the dash and a customisable TFT instrument display.

Technical details are thin on the ground at the moment, but it’s been suggested that the Alpine will come in two flavours; a 1,8-litre four-cylinder turbopetrol developing around 185 kW and a hotter version with 225 kW on tap. Although these figures are not exactly earth shattering, it must be understood that Alpine’s focus is on the use of lightweight materials, as well as keeping things simple and streamlined.

Although Renault initially envisages the Alpine as a standalone model, its creation of a fully-fledged Alpine sub-brand with the likes of former Renault Sport chief Bernard Ollivier at the helm, Antony Villain, who designed the last couple of Alpine concept as designer and Renault veteran Arnaud Delebeque heading up sales and marketing on board means that a family of Alpine models is on the table – including hardcore performance variants and possibly an SUV/crossover.

A production version of the Renault Alpine Vision concept is expected to hit the market in 2017.

Original article from Car