Alpine A110

Sports car produced by Renault in the 1960s and 1970s
the 1963–1977 sports car

The Alpine A110 is a sports car produced by French automobile manufacturer Alpine from 1963 to 1977. The car was styled as a "berlinette", which in the post WWII era refers to a small enclosed two door berline, better known as a coupé. The Alpine A110 succeeded the earlier A108. The car was powered by a succession of Renault engines. A car also named Alpine A110 was introduced in 2017. The Alpine A110 experienced a remarkable evolution in terms of power output throughout its production years. Initially, the A110 had an output of just 51 horsepower, which was adequate for a car weighing only 620 kilograms. However, by the end of the A110's production run, its power output had increased to 180 horsepower. This impressive increase in power contributed to the car's success on the rally stages of Europe. The A110's crowning achievements included 1 2 3 finishes at both the 1971 and 1973 Monte Carlo rallies, and it used Renault 16 engines at the time. In 1973, Alpine won the inaugural manufacturer's World Rally Championship, defeating competitors such as Lancia, Porsche, and Ford. However, by 1974, advances in rally competition led to a significant shift in the landscape of the sport, and the Alpine A110, which had become outdated, struggled to keep up with its rivals. As a result, sales of the A110 declined, prompting Renault to step in and purchase the company outright in an effort to save it. Despite being surpassed by newer rally cars, the A110's legacy as a successful and iconic rally car remains, and its victories in the early 1970s solidified its place in motorsport history. Unlike the A108, which was available first as a cabriolet and only later as a coupé, the A110 was available first as a berlinette and then as a cabriolet. The most obvious external departure from the A108 coupé was a restyling of the rear bodywork. Done to accommodate the A110's larger engine, this change gave the car a more aggressive look. Like the A108, the A110 featured a steel backbone chassis and a fiberglass body. Alpine was a pioneer in the use of glass fibre body panel construction, which was valued for its lightweight properties and malleability. This innovation allowed the company to produce its first proprietary body, the A106, which was placed on top of the old Renault 4CV chassis. The reduced weight of the body contributed to the car's success in rallying. Later, a cabriolet version was introduced, based on a stiff, tubular backbone chassis design that would become the foundation for all Alpines until the final production of the A610 in 1995. These were the only versions built outside France that were commercialised under the same names and to the same specifications as the French built ones. FASA manufactured version A110 1100 (from 1967 to 1970) with 1108 cc engines, version A110 1300 (from 1971 to 1976) with 1289 cc engines, and version A110 1400 (from 1977 to 1978) with 1397 cc engines. In 1974, the mid engine Lancia Stratos which was the first car designed specifically for rally racing, was operational and homologated. At the same time it was obvious that the rear engine A110 was nearing the limits of its development potential. The adoption of fuel injection brought no performance increase. On some cars, a DOHC 16 valve head was fitted to the engine, but it proved unreliable. Chassis modifications, such as the usage of the A310's double wishbone rear suspension, homologated with the A110 1600SC, also failed to increase performance. On the international stage the Stratos proved to be the "ultimate weapon", soon making the A110, as well as many other rally cars, obsolete. The A110 remains a staple of vintage racing events such as the Rallye Monte Carlo Historique. The Dieppe factory that served as the base for Jean Redele and Alpine continues to operate and produce cars. Notably, the legendary Renault 5 Turbo was built at the Dieppe factory. In more recent years, the factory became the headquarters of Renault Sport, where renowned performance cars such as the Clio 172, 182, Trophy, and the Megane R26. R and 275 Trophy R were designed and developed. This legacy of performance car development can be traced back to Dieppe and ultimately to the influence of Alpine and Jean Redele.

The A110 was fitted with a variety of engines between 1963 and 1977. The Alpine A110, driven by Jean Luc Therier, became the first vehicle ever to win an international rally with a turbocharger when it secured victory at the 1972 Criterium des Cevennes rally. This achievement predated the introduction of Audi's turbocharged Ur Quattro by eight years Engines used on production cars included the following:

Name Year Model Engine description Type Displacement Power A110 956 1963–1965 R8 Cléon Fonte 689 956 cc 55 hp SAE A110 1100 "70" 1964–1969 1100 VA R8 Major Cléon Fonte 688 1,108 cc 66 hp SAE A110 1100 "100" 1965–1968 1100 VB R8 Gordini Cléon Fonte 804 / S 1966–1971 1300 VB Tuned R8 Gordini Cléon Fonte 804 Cléon Alu 844–32 1,605 cc 140 hp SAE (127 PS) A110 1600S SI 1974–1975 1600 VD R17 TS Cléon Alu with injection. 844 34 1,605 cc 140 hp SAE (127 PS) A110 1600S SX 1976–1977 1600 VH Stock R16 TX Cléon Alu 843 1,647 cc 92 hp (93 PS)

No. Event Season Driver Co driver 1 42ème Rallye Automobile de Monte Carlo 1973 Jean Claude Andruet Michèle 'Biche' Petit 2 7º TAP Rallye de Portugal 1973 Jean Luc Thérier Jacques Jaubert 3 16ème Rallye du Maroc 1973 Bernard Darniche Alain Mahé 4 21st Acropolis Rally 1973 Jean Luc Thérier Christian Delferrier 5 15º Rallye Sanremo 1973 Jean Luc Thérier Jacques Jaubert 6 17ème Tour de Corse 1973 Jean Pierre Nicolas Michel Vial