Renault Alpine GTA и A610: История спортивного купе

The Renault Alpine GTA and the succeeding A610 is a sports coupe automobile produced by the Renault owned French manufacturer Alpine between late 1984 and 1995. It replaced the slow selling Alpine A310, with which it shared many features, including the layout and engine. The GTA was replaced by the A610 in 1991.

The Grand Tourisme Alpine (or GTA) is a sporty automobile model produced by the French manufacturer Alpine, launched in 1985. It is the successor to the Alpine A310, and the first Alpine produced 100% by Renault. It was the first car launched by Alpine under Renault ownership (though Alpine had been affiliated with Renault for many years, with its earlier models using many Renault parts). Longer, wider, and taller, it effectively updated the design of its predecessor, the Alpine A310, updating that car's silhouette with modern design features like body integrated bumpers and a triangular C pillar with the large rear windshield. Like its predecessor, it used the V6 PRV engine in a rear engined layout, with extensive use of Polyester plastics and fibreglass for the body panels making it lighter and quicker than rivals such as the Porsche 944. Passenger room increased, making the rear seat more useful, while equipment was much more complete and now included items such as power locks. It was one of the most aerodynamic cars of its time, and the naturally aspirated version achieved a record 0.28 drag coefficient in its class. In Great Britain, it was sold simply as the Renault GTA, as Sunbeam (and then Chrysler/Talbot) had been using the "Alpine" badge since the 1950s. Rather than being molded in a single piece as for the preceding A310, the new Alpine's body was molded in a large number of small separate panels. The PRV engine in the naturally aspirated model was identical to the version used in the Renault 25, a 2849 cc unit producing The small power gain compensated for the weight increase, up by Also available was the more powerful turbocharged model, which used a smaller (2.5 liter) displacement. The central backbone chassis (with outriggers for side impact protection) was built by Heuliez and then transferred to Dieppe. Aside from the body, most of the car was subcontracted to various suppliers. It was also moved forward (making the rear overhang shorter while nearly all other dimensions increased) compared to the A310, improving somewhat on that car's tailwards weight distribution. This soon dropped considerably, as the somewhat less than prestigious Renault had a hard time in the sports car marketplace. The average production for the six full years was just above 1000 per annum, or just above three per day almost identical to the A310 V6's annual production.

Alpine wanted to launch a complete range of models. Three models were announced for public use.

Presented in November 1984, it is the base version. With a Cx of 0.28, and an SC of 0.48, the V6 GT set a record for aerodynamics at the time for a car in this category. The first model introduced was the naturally aspirated V6 GT (D 500), which entered production in November 1984, although press photos had been released in September 1984. The car was first shown at the 1985 Amsterdam Rai, immediately after which it also went on sale.

The Europa Cup was initially rolled out in July 1985. The model was conceived for racing during the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Europe, hence its name. Of the 69 cars manufactured between 1984 and 1987, it is estimated that only seven remain in the "civilian" version. All cars left the production lines of the Alpine factory in Dieppe with their registration certificate, but to recover the VAT, some Europa Cups no longer carry the proper paperwork for registration. In July 1985, the Europa Cup model appeared; this limited edition model was intended for a single make racing championship, and 69 cars were built (54 in 1985 and 15 more in 1987).

The V6 Turbo model (D 501) was introduced in September 1985. With a larger rear spoiler grille to improve cooling. The Cx increases from 0.28 to 0.30. Like the Renault 25 V6 Turbo, the GTA uses the 2458 cc V6 PRV turbocharged engine producing at 5750 rpm and of torque at 2500 rpm. This gave it a 0 60 mph (97 km/h) time of 6.3 seconds and a top speed of as tested by Autocar. Sales of the naturally aspirated model were always sluggish, but with the more powerful turbo, things picked up considerably. In 1988 anti lock brakes became available. For the 1989 model year the Mille Miles version appeared. With the non catalyzed engine, this model heralded a re focus on the Alpine name. The Renault logo was gone from the car, with an alpine logo up front and a large "Alpine" print appearing between the taillights. However, as the name 'Alpine' could not be used in the UK the name Alpine was removed from cars destined for the UK; there was no large print at the back of these cars and a UK specific logo was fitted to the front of the car. The Mille Miles, a limited edition of 100 cars, also featured a special dark red metallic paintjob, polished aluminium wheels, and a large silver gray triangular stripe with the Alpine "A" across the left side of the front. The US model had an emissions cleaned engine with , bigger bumpers, and flip up headlamps. In March 1987, however, Renault sold its share in American Motors to Chrysler and began to withdraw from the American and Canadian markets. Commentators had already expressed concern about AMC dealers being able to handle such an expensive and complicated car. By the time of the withdrawal, 21 pre series cars had been finished. Twelve of these were sold by Alpine directly to specially selected customers in France.

The Le Mans is released in February 1990. It is planned to build 300 units. 325 will be built until February 1991. It adopts the catalyzed evolution of the V6 Turbo, and its power drops from 200 to 185 hp. It is equipped with a body kit derived from the one proposed by a German tuner. The fenders are widened, and the front turn signals migrate from the fender tips to the bumper. The fenders and front mask are formed in one piece and rocker panels are added. It has specific ACT wheels "BBS style" with a false central nut. Only three colors are offered: Alpine Blue (No. 488), Imperial Red (No. 570) and Beetle Green (No. 592). This body kit will give the outline of its successor, the A610. In 1990, Alpine is obliged by French regulations to clean up its engines. Contrary to the Renault 25 V6 Turbo which sees its power going from 182 to 205 hp, the V6 Turbo of the GTA goes from 200 to 185 hp. Alpine fans cry treason when they see this difference in treatment between the two cars. However, the V6 PRV of the Alpine is not strictly identical to that of the Renault 25 since it had to be adapted, in particular for the implementation of the gearbox. With a totally different engine environment, the engineers cannot optimize the GTA's pollution control at a reasonable cost without reducing power. The sales volumes of the Alpine do not allow such investments. Apart from the top speed, which drops from , the decrease in performance is not noticeable. With the help of the Danielson SA company, the after sales service nevertheless develops a simple and inexpensive engine preparation intended to calm the discontented. The engine management is optimized and the power increases from 185 to 210 hp. The registration was modified accordingly. The Danielson "Le Mans" has almost the same performance as the non catalyzed V6 Turbo. In acceleration, it can be as fast as a Porsche 911 (964) Carrera 2 or a Ferrari 348 TB (from in 9.3 s in fifth gear). This preparation cost at the time 16 000 FRF in addition to the 375 000 FRF of the basic car.

ModelA610 D 503 05 Engine type PRV 90º V6 Code: Z7X 744 Position Longitudinally mounted,Rear engine, rear wheel drive layout Fuel feed Renix Bendix Siemens fuel injection Valvetrain SOHC 4 valves per cylinder Bore X Stroke stroke from March 1993 Displacement 2975 cc2963 cc from March 1993 Compression ratio 7.6:1 Max. power at 5,750 rpm Max. torque at 2,900 rpm Catalytic converter 3 way Lambda sensor Fuel type RON 95 or 98 unleaded petrol Aspiration Garrett AiResearch T3 Turbocharger Gearbox 5 speed manual transmission Kilometer start stop 25 to 26 s 0 to 5.9 s or 5.7 s Max. speed Consumption Town Fuel tank Aerodynamic Drag coefficient Cx : 0.30 SCx : 0.54