{"id":94540,"date":"2022-03-24T06:30:00","date_gmt":"2022-03-24T06:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.secret-classics.com\/60-years-of-the-alpine-a110\/"},"modified":"2022-04-07T12:50:08","modified_gmt":"2022-04-07T12:50:08","slug":"60-years-of-the-alpine-a110","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.secret-classics.com\/en\/60-years-of-the-alpine-a110\/","title":{"rendered":"60 Years of the Alpine A110"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

With the Alpine A110, Jean R\u00e9d\u00e9l\u00e9 achieved a great success 60 years ago. And yet the vehicle itself was so small and flat that in France it was nicknamed “le Turbot”, the flat fish. Nevertheless, the A110 managed to drive its way into the hearts of sports car and rally fans. The lightweight car remained almost unchanged in the range until 1977. Technically, the flounder developed up to 240 hp over the years. In the 1950s, Renault also produced some interesting vehicles. Sportiness, however, wasn’t necessarily one of the core arguments with which they could be advertised. This didn’t sit well with a Renault dealer in Dieppe on the Channel coast of France at all. After all, a lot could already be made out of vehicles like the 4CV by simple tuning. He proved this, among other things, by winning the Coupe des Alpes in 1954.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From dealer to car manufacturer<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In order to at least earn money in his customer base with his sporting successes, he began to build his first own sports model on this basis the following year. He gave it the name “Alpine” in memory of his victory. It was the Alpine A106 with plastic bodywork and a tuned 4CV engine. Who was this dealer? None other than Jean R\u00e9d\u00e9l\u00e9, whose name still has a good ring to it among rally fans today. However, neither his own sporting successes nor his dealership are to blame. Even the A106 was only a first taste of his skills, but not a great sales success. Likewise, the Alpine A108, introduced three years later, wasn’t one, although it was available as a coup\u00e9 or convertible. In retrospect it is a trailblazer with numerous sporting successes. Compared to the car with a special anniversary, which is actually the subject of this report, it was a small light in the history books of the French automobile industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A110 made its debut in Paris<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In 1962, at the Paris Motor Show, the time had finally come: the experts paid attention and the visitors to the fair were wide-eyed when they saw the new A110 Berlinette with the additional name “Tour de France”. None of the onlookers at the time could have guessed that this vehicle would remain in the range for a full 15 years and turn the rally world upside down in the process. The body shape, which was already quite convincing in the A108, was lovingly developed further without losing its dainty style. The overall vehicle was only 1.13 meters high and 3.85 meters long. Thanks to the continued use of plastic construction for the body, a central tube frame chassis and the rear engine of the Renault 8, the total weight was initially a low 565 kilograms. Over the years, it increased due to several model updates and different engines, but from today’s point of view it was still surprisingly far below the one-ton mark at 730 kilograms in the last version.<\/p>\n\n\n

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