It was the work of a stubborn Frenchman who, in the early 1960s, wanted to build a winning car based on the Renault 8 of the time. The result was spectacular.
After several comings and goings, agreements and disagreements, it seems that . This has been said by Carlos Ghosn, head of the Nissan-Renault alliance, who has announced the starting signal for a model that is called to mark a new era in the French firm. The new concept will be seen this weekend at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and, if all goes according to plan, by the end of 2016 it could be a reality.
And what better time than now to pull the newspaper library and dive into the origins of the Alpine? A history that dates back to the early 1960s, when the mechanic and trainer Jean Redelé founded that firm with the aim of making racing cars based on existing Renault models. Unlike other tuners of the time, such as Gordini, his idea was not simply to extract more power from the engines, but to completely remake the car until it was almost unrecognizable and more suitable for racing on the circuits.
origins
A perfect example of his activity is precisely the Renault Alpine, which he built on the basis of the Renault 8, but which had a different chassis, a fiberglass body that lightened the total weight, a chassis borrowed from the Renault 10 and even others. elements such as the four brake discs replacing the original drums of the R8.
Indeed, Redelé had created a machine that had nothing to do with the model from which it was derived and which, moreover, seemed to show very good manners in competition. First came the Alpine A108, which quickly evolved into the Alpine A110 to give it more play. With a length of 3.8 meters, a wheelbase of just over 2 meters and a weight of only 544 kilograms, this tremendously compact, light and buzzy car became a rally prodigy.
One of the consequences of weighing just half a ton was that it did not need large engines to achieve good performance. Throughout its life (it remained in production from 1962 to 1978) it housed several Renault mechanics in its vain, with displacements of 1.1, 1.3, 1.5 and even 1.6 liters, many of them below 100 hp. However, the culmination came with the Alpine A100 1600S, a model that today is sold at a high price in the classic market, which delivered 125 horsepower and was capable of accelerating from 0 to 100 km/h in just 6 seconds and rolling at a top speed close to 220 km/h.
Footprint in Spain
One of its hallmarks was the rear location of the engine, which was placed behind the axle, in the purest Porsche 911 style. This gave it points of advantage in terms of traction since, by having so much rear, it was capable of transmitting power to the rear wheels more efficiently than its rivals, especially on slippery surfaces. On the other hand, its short wheelbase, track width and low center of gravity made it a very fast model when cornering. Among his successes in the competition are some as notorious as the victory in the Monte Carlo Rally in 1971.
The Renault Alpine A110 ceased production in 1978, but not before leaving its mark in Spain, where it had the opportunity to be assembled at the FASA factory in Valladolid. It did so from 1967 until the end of its days and, although the 1600S version did not arrive here, we were able to enjoy the Alpine A110 in its 1100, 1300 and 1400 variants. Without a doubt, a model to remember that still calls attention for its spectacular design. A design and a concept that, by the way, have something to do with Colin Chapman’s Lotus Elan, which was beginning its journey in that decade of the 60s and also used a very compact and light fiberglass body.
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