1972 Renault Alpine A110

In the early 1950s, French competition cars were few and far between and it was left to a young French engineer to redress the balance. Jean Rédélé, whose father ran a Renault dealership in Dieppe, initially used a modified Renault 4CV in a variety of events and rallies,his endeavours being rewarded with a Coupe des Alpes in 1950 and three 750cc class wins in the 1952-1954 Mille Miglias. It was then that Rédélé decided to build his own cars, appropriately choosing Alpine as the marque name. Société des Automobiles Alpine was duly formed in 1955 with the A106 as the first model utilising modified Renault 4CV running gear. The following year, Maurice Michy driving an A106 won his class in the Mille Miglia. Variants with up to 950cc engines followed - a steel-bodied A107 was dropped - before the A108 of 1957. It was in 1963, however, when the most familiar body style appeared in the form of the Renault R8-based A110 which used 1,100cc to 1,800cc engines during its 15 years of production.  

According to the accompanying history file, this special Dieppe-built Alpine was first registered at Sinecy in Northern France on the 26th October 1972 with the registration ‘2084RB02’. It was subsequently registered here in the UK in 1990 with various different registration numbers used under different ownerships. The last UK registration recorded was ‘SCK 728L’ prior to its purchase in 2005 when it moved to the Isle of Man where it has resided ever since. There is more detailed information about previous UK based owners in the accompanying history file.

Sadly, the owner of this Alpine passed away in August 2022 and the car is being offered by his widow to our Race Retro auction. Her late husband was a real enthusiast of the Alpine marque and, in 1995, whilst on holiday doing a tour of the racing circuits around France, one of the cars on the trip was an A110 and he declared that his dream one day was to own one. That dream came true some ten years later in 2005 when a long search for the right car was rewarded with the arrival of #13995.

In the years that followed, the A110 was well cared for with time during our vendor's retirement being spent tinkering with the Alpine, as he had a passion for doing the right thing and making sure everything was done correctly. Indeed, under his ownership, the genuine 812 Gordini engine was enlarged to 1,296cc and rebuilt by old-school Renault engine guru, Salv Sacco, who fitted forged pistons and balanced the engine internals. At the same time, a new wiring loom was fitted in order that the car was in tip-top order for trips and tours around Europe.

Much fun and lifetime memories were made in the years that followed with trips to Ireland, Scotland, HRCR runs in the Forest of Dean, several holidays in Germany and France along with a trip to the Le Mans Classic. In 2014, our late vendor and his wife took on a trip with the Manx Classic Car Club to Angouleme for the circuit Des Ramparts, Rallye international, Charente. It was the only UK (Manx) registered A110 at the event and our vendor was invited to do six laps of the circuit to open the racing along with other racing drivers. It was at this event that Michelle Leclerc signed the boot lid of the car for our late vendor as they became friends at that event and remained friends.

This lovely Alpine is being offered to auction at a very attractive estimate and is accompanied by an impressive, documented history file that we encourage all interested parties to go through. As you can see in the attached images, the car is also provided with some hard-to-find parts, along with an impressive collection of rare Alpine manuals and reference books available to inspect at Race Retro. Please note that, if the car is bought by someone in the UK, then a NOVA and subsequently a new V5 will need to be applied for as the car is currently registered in the Isle of Man.

Overall, this is a rare and desirable car, on offer from long term private ownership and is an exciting opportunity for its new owner to write the next chapter of the fascinating story of #13395.