ALPINE

A110

The RENAULT Alpine A110 1600 is the definitive evolution of the most successful French sports car of its era — the lightweight, rear-engined "Berlinette" that turned the small town of Dieppe into a giant-killing rally legend. The A110 was created by Jean Rédélé, a Renault dealer and amateur racer, who built his fibreglass coupé on a tubular steel backbone chassis designed with his cousin Roger Prieur, clothed in a curvaceous body styled by Giovanni Michelotti. The A110 was launched in 1962 and quickly built its reputation on the basis of being light, agile and devastatingly fast on twisty roads. The 1600 chapter began in September 1968, when the earlier 1500 was superseded by the A110 1600, fitted with the 1,565 cc engine derived from the Renault 16 TS producing around 92 bhp. In 1969 the Dieppe engineers unveiled the sensational A110 1600 S, a roughly 138 hp version that caused a stir at international rallies and became the car most enthusiasts picture when they hear the name Alpine A110. With its featherweight glassfibre body and rear-mounted Renault four-cylinder engine, the A110 1600 offered a power-to-weight ratio that humiliated far more expensive machinery. On the world stage the RENAULT Alpine A110 1600 became a motorsport icon. It scored famous 1-2-3 clean sweeps at the Monte Carlo Rally in both 1971 and 1973, and in 1973 the A110 powered Alpine-Renault to the inaugural World Rally Championship manufacturers' title. These victories made the little Berlinette a national hero and a benchmark for what a lightweight, well-balanced sports car could achieve. Production of the Dieppe-built A110 continued until 1977, by which time 7,489 cars had been made in France, supplemented by 1,904 examples assembled by FASA in Spain. Today the RENAULT Alpine A110 1600, and especially the coveted 1600 S, is one of the most desirable French classics on the market, celebrated for its rally pedigree, its jewel-like proportions, and a driving experience that still feels electric half a century on.