Re: Guess this car: The Hopefully not too easy Version (Taimar2)
quote:[HR][/HR]Renault Alpine A110. Sorry...[HR][/HR]
That's okay... I've heard very little about it, but I just wanted to see how common it was...
Here's some background information to make this thread more interesting
quote:[HR][/HR]
In 1973, the Alpine became world rally champion, chiefly owing to its Monte Carlo hat trick. A long road has been travelled since the early days of Jean Rédélé, founder of the French marque. The Alpine story started in the early 1960s when the 24-year old engineer in Dieppe became the youngest Renault dealer in France. A real car racing enthusiast, he soon began to mop up international competitions at the wheel of a Renault 4HP he fitted out himself. His 1952 victory in the Sportscar category of the Mille Miglia spurred him on even further. With the help of designer Giovanni Michelotti, he launched out into the design of a 4HP sports coupe.
Convinced of his car’s potential, Jean Rédéle decided to save weight by giving it a lighter plastic body. Named Alpine after his victory in the Critérium des Alpes, the new car, built on a 4HP base, came out in 1955 under the name of coach A 106.
The marque Alpine, a name the public was beginning to recognise, showed a “Tour de France” berlinette at the 1960 Paris motor show. Based on a sketch by Rédéle, the A 108 developed into the A 110 when it adopted the engine of the Renault 8 shown in 1962. From then on, nothing could stop the commercial and sporting success of the sportscar fans’ favourite.
Light, limber and low-slung, the A 110 berlinette became the delight of a whole new generation of rally drivers. Often imitated but never equalled. Demanding great sacrifices in terms of comfort and space, the Alpine is nonetheless a real treat to drive. That’s what it was made for. It’s a car for an aesthete.
The special feature of the Alpine is its rear overhung engine. This architecture is what gives it its athletic temperament. Weighing less than 600 kg due to its resin and fibreglass body attached to a backbone frame and its sparse equipment, the Alpine A 110 in its different engine versions legitimately deserved its sporting success.
Starting at 1000 cm3 in 1963 (55 hp), the A 110 finished its career at 1600 in 1977 (95 hp). The 1973 1600 SC-SI version even reached 140 hp. There were 10 successive engine versions in all. The 1300 G version developed by Amédée Gordini and on the market from 1970 to 1971 was based on the Gordini R8 engine. This 1255 cm3 engine keeps the 72-mm stroke as on the 1.296 of the 1300 version but has a bore of 74.5 mm. The 1300 G has a Gordini R8 four-speed gearbox but can also have, on option, a five-speed. It has four disk brakes and a double circuit.
Words - Sylvain Reisser[HR][/HR]
