Alpine A110
Encyclopedia
The Alpine A110, also known as the "Berlinette", was a sports car
produced by the French
manufacturer Alpine
from 1961 to 1977. The A110 was powered by various Renault
engines.
The Alpine A110 was introduced in 1961 as an evolution of the A108. Like other road-going Alpines the A110 used many Renault parts. But while the A108 was designed around Dauphine
components, the A110 was updated to use R8
parts. Like the A108 available first as a cabriolet
and later as a coupé
, the A110 was delivered first with "Berlinetta" bodyworks and then as a cabriolet. The main visible difference with the A108 Coupé was a restyling of the rear body to fit the larger engines, which gave the car a more aggressive look. Like the A108, the A110 featured a steel backbone chassis with fiberglass body. This design was influenced by the Lotus Elan
, Colin Chapman
being a major source of inspiration for Alpine designers at that time. The A110 was originally available with 1.1 L R8 Major or R8 Gordini engines. The Gordini engine delivered 95 hp SAE at 6500 rpm.
The A110 achieved most of its fame in the early 1970s as a victorious rally car
. After winning several rallies in France in the late 1960s with iron-cast R8 Gordini engines the car was fitted with the aluminium-block Renault 16
TS engine. With two dual-chamber Weber 45 carburetor
s the TS engine delivered 125 hp DIN at 6000 rpm. This allowed the production 1600S to reach a top speed of 210 kilometre per hour.
The car reached international fame during the 1970-1972 seasons when it participated in the newly created International Championship for Manufacturers
, winning several events around Europe
and being considered one of the strongest rally cars of its time. Notable performances from the car included victory on the 1971 Monte Carlo Rally with Swedish driver Ove Andersson
.
With the buy-out of Alpine by Renault complete, the International Championship was replaced by the World Rally Championship
for 1973, in which Renault elected to compete with the A110. With a team featuring Bernard Darniche
, Jean-Pierre Nicolas
and Jean-Luc Thérier
as permanent drivers and "guest stars" like Jean-Claude Andruet
(who won the 1973 Monte Carlo Rally
) the A110 won most races where the works team was entered, making Alpine the first World Rally Champion.
As well as being built at Alpine's Dieppe factory, A110 models were constructed by various other vehicle manufacturers around the world. The Alpine A110 was produced in Brazil under the name Interlagos
; a young driver named Emerson Fittipaldi
drove one in several races. The Alpine A110 was produced in Mexico under the name Dinalpin, from 1965 to 1974, by Diesel Nacional (DINA), which also produced the Renault vehicles. The Alpine A110 was also produced in Bulgaria
under the name Bulgaralpine
, from 1967 to 1969, by a cooperative formed between SPC Metalhim and ETO Bulet, whose collaboration also resulted in the production of the Bulgarrenault
.
In 1974 the Lancia Stratos
, the first car designed from scratch for rally racing, was operational and homologated. At the same time, it was obvious that the A110 had reached the end of its development. Attempts to use fuel injection brought no performance increase. On some cars a DOHC 16-valve head was fitted to the engine but proved unreliable. Chassis modification like the use of an A310
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" making the A110 as well as many other rally cars soon obsolete.
Engine: Renault
1108 cc Straight-4
Power output: 98 hp SAE (73 kW) gross; compression ratio 9.6
Chassis/Body
Overall length: 12.633 ft (3.851 m)
Overall width: 4.825 ft (1.471 m)
Height: 3.708 ft (1.130 m)
Turning circle: 30.333 ft (9.246 m)
Wheelbase: 6.885 ft (2.099 m)
Front track: 4.100 ft (1.250 m)
Rear track: 4.000 ft (1.219 m)
Empty weight: 1199 lb (544 kg)
Performance
Top speed: 219 km/h (136 mph)
Unique characteristics: due to the rear-mounted engine there was no air-intake grille on the front of the body. Cooling air was scooped from below the chassis and exhausted thru near-horizontal openings on the rear fenders above and aft of the rear wheels.
Engine: Renault
1565 cc Straight-4
Power Output: 138 hp SAE (103 kW) gross (125 PS DIN (93 kW))
Transmission
Transmission
: 5-Speed Manual
Chassis/Body
Chassis: Steel
backbone
Body Panels: Fiberglass
Weight: 1367 lb (620 kg)
Length: 159 in (4.039 m)
Width: 59.1 in (1.501 m)
Wheelbase: 89.4 in (2.271 m)
Track (Front/Rear): 48.0 in (1.219 m) / 49.2 in (1.250 m)
Performance
Top speed: 210 km/h (130 mph)
has a kit model of this car, on 1:24 scale. The company produced it before with the original Jean Rédélé livery but after Bburago was bought in 2007 by Maisto (May Cheong Group) and started building the model in China, that was lost to a French-flag motif .
Sports car
A sports car is a small, usually two seat, two door automobile designed for high speed driving and maneuverability....
produced by the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
manufacturer Alpine
Alpine (car)
Alpine was a French manufacturer of racing and sports cars that used rear-mounted Renault engines.Jean Rédélé , the founder of Alpine, was originally a Dieppe garage proprietor, who began to achieve considerable competition success in one of the few French cars produced just after World War...
from 1961 to 1977. The A110 was powered by various Renault
Renault
Renault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, and in the past, autorail vehicles, trucks, tractors, vans and also buses/coaches. Its alliance with Nissan makes it the world's third largest automaker...
engines.
The Alpine A110 was introduced in 1961 as an evolution of the A108. Like other road-going Alpines the A110 used many Renault parts. But while the A108 was designed around Dauphine
Renault Dauphine
Renault Dauphine is a rear-engined economy car manufactured by Renault in one body style — a three-box, four-door sedan — as the successor to the Renault 4CV, with over two million examples marketed worldwide during its production from 1956-1967....
components, the A110 was updated to use R8
Renault 8
The Renault 8 and Renault 10 are two small family cars produced by the French manufacturer Renault in the 1960s and early 1970s....
parts. Like the A108 available first as a cabriolet
Convertible
A convertible is a type of automobile in which the roof can retract and fold away having windows which wind-down inside the doors, converting it from an enclosed to an open-air vehicle...
and later as a coupé
Coupé
A coupé or coupe is a closed car body style , the precise definition of which varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, and over time...
, the A110 was delivered first with "Berlinetta" bodyworks and then as a cabriolet. The main visible difference with the A108 Coupé was a restyling of the rear body to fit the larger engines, which gave the car a more aggressive look. Like the A108, the A110 featured a steel backbone chassis with fiberglass body. This design was influenced by the Lotus Elan
Lotus Elan
Lotus Elan is the name of two convertible cars and one fixed head coupé produced by Lotus Cars. The original Type 26, 26R Racing version , 36R Racing version , 36 Fixed Head Coupe, 45 Drop Head Coupe, and the "Type 50" +2 Coupe, circa 1962 to 1975, are commonly known as the '60s Elans...
, Colin Chapman
Colin Chapman
Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman CBE was an influential British designer, inventor, and builder in the automotive industry, and founder of Lotus Cars....
being a major source of inspiration for Alpine designers at that time. The A110 was originally available with 1.1 L R8 Major or R8 Gordini engines. The Gordini engine delivered 95 hp SAE at 6500 rpm.
The A110 achieved most of its fame in the early 1970s as a victorious rally car
Rallying
Rallying, also known as rally racing, is a form of auto racing that takes place on public or private roads with modified production or specially built road-legal cars...
. After winning several rallies in France in the late 1960s with iron-cast R8 Gordini engines the car was fitted with the aluminium-block Renault 16
Renault 16
The Renault 16 is a hatchback produced by French automaker Renault between 1965 and 1980 in Le Havre, France. The reviewer in the May 1965 edition of the English "Motoring Illustrated" said: "The Renault Sixteen can thus be described as a large family car but one that is neither a four door saloon...
TS engine. With two dual-chamber Weber 45 carburetor
Carburetor
A carburetor , carburettor, or carburetter is a device that blends air and fuel for an internal combustion engine. It is sometimes shortened to carb in North America and the United Kingdom....
s the TS engine delivered 125 hp DIN at 6000 rpm. This allowed the production 1600S to reach a top speed of 210 kilometre per hour.
The car reached international fame during the 1970-1972 seasons when it participated in the newly created International Championship for Manufacturers
International Championship for Manufacturers
The FIA International Championship for Manufacturers was a rally series culminating in a champion manufacturer. The championship was run from 1970 to 1972 and it was replaced by the FIA World Rally Championship in 1973...
, winning several events around Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and being considered one of the strongest rally cars of its time. Notable performances from the car included victory on the 1971 Monte Carlo Rally with Swedish driver Ove Andersson
Ove Andersson
Ove Andersson was a Swedish rally driver and the first head of Toyota's F1 program. His nickname was "Påven" .-Early life:...
.
With the buy-out of Alpine by Renault complete, the International Championship was replaced by the World Rally Championship
World Rally Championship
The World Rally Championship is a rallying series organised by the FIA, culminating with a champion driver and manufacturer. The driver's world championship and manufacturer's world championship are separate championships, but based on the same point system. The series currently consists of 13...
for 1973, in which Renault elected to compete with the A110. With a team featuring Bernard Darniche
Bernard Darniche
Bernard Darniche is a French former rally driver. He won the European Rally Championship in 1976 and 1977 and the French Rally Championship in 1976 and 1978, each time behind the wheel of a Lancia Stratos...
, Jean-Pierre Nicolas
Jean-Pierre Nicolas
Jean-Pierre Nicolas is a retired French professional rally driver who competed mainly in the 1970s.Nicolas took five WRC event wins in the World Rally Championship...
and Jean-Luc Thérier
Jean-Luc Thérier
Jean-Luc Thérier is a French former rally driver. He was the highest scoring driver in the inaugural World Rally Championship in 1973 and the only one to win three events...
as permanent drivers and "guest stars" like Jean-Claude Andruet
Jean-Claude Andruet
Jean-Claude Andruet is a retired French professional rally driver who competed in the World Rally Championship.Andruet took three WRC event wins during his career; 1973 Monte Carlo Rally, 1974 Tour de Corse and 1977 San Remo Rally. The 1973 Monte Carlo was the first ever rally in the FIA World...
(who won the 1973 Monte Carlo Rally
1973 Monte Carlo Rally
The 1973 Monte Carlo Rally was the 42nd running of the Monte Carlo Rally, one of the world's oldest and most well-known automobile rallies. Run in late January and hosted in the principality of Monaco, the 1973 rally was notable for being the first rally on the Fédération Internationale de...
) the A110 won most races where the works team was entered, making Alpine the first World Rally Champion.
As well as being built at Alpine's Dieppe factory, A110 models were constructed by various other vehicle manufacturers around the world. The Alpine A110 was produced in Brazil under the name Interlagos
Interlagos
***Interlagos is an upper class neighborhood located in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. It includes the Autódromo José Carlos Pace race track, home of the Formula One Brazilian Grand Prix...
; a young driver named Emerson Fittipaldi
Emerson Fittipaldi
Emerson Fittipaldi |São Paulo]], Brazil) is a Brazilian automobile racing driver who throughout a long and successful career won the Indianapolis 500 twice and championships in both Formula One and CART.-Early and personal life:...
drove one in several races. The Alpine A110 was produced in Mexico under the name Dinalpin, from 1965 to 1974, by Diesel Nacional (DINA), which also produced the Renault vehicles. The Alpine A110 was also produced in Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
under the name Bulgaralpine
Bulgaralpine
Bulgaralpine was a sports automobile produced in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, and the result of a collaboration between Alpine and ETO Bulet...
, from 1967 to 1969, by a cooperative formed between SPC Metalhim and ETO Bulet, whose collaboration also resulted in the production of the Bulgarrenault
Bulgarrenault
Bulgarrenault was an automobile produced in the city of Plovdiv, Bulgaria, and the result of a collaboration between Metalhim and Bulet...
.
In 1974 the Lancia Stratos
Lancia Stratos
The Lancia Stratos HF, widely and more simply known as Lancia Stratos, is a car made by Italian car manufacturer Lancia. The HF stands for High Fidelity...
, the first car designed from scratch for rally racing, was operational and homologated. At the same time, it was obvious that the A110 had reached the end of its development. Attempts to use fuel injection brought no performance increase. On some cars a DOHC 16-valve head was fitted to the engine but proved unreliable. Chassis modification like the use of an A310
Alpine A310
The Alpine A310 was a sports car built by French manufacturer Alpine, from 1971 to 1984.Dieppe-based Alpine, once an independent company specialising in faster Renaults, later a Renault subsidiary, established a fine competition history with the Alpine A110 winning the 1973 Monte Carlo Rally and...
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" making the A110 as well as many other rally cars soon obsolete.
Engines
The A110 was fitted with various powerplants. Here is a list of the engines used on production cars:| Name | Year | Model | Description | Type | Displacement | Power |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A110 1100 "70" | 1964–1969 | 1000 VA | R8 Major | type 688 | 1108 cc | 66 hp SAE |
| A110 1100 "100" | 1965–1968 | 1100 VB | R8 Gordini | type 804 | 1108 cc | 95 hp SAE |
| A110 1300 S | 1965–1971 | 1300 VB | tuned R8 Gordini | type 804 | 1296 cc | 120 hp SAE |
| A110 1300 G | 1967–1971 | 1300 VA | stock R8 Gordini 1300 | type 812 | 1255 cc | 105 hp SAE |
| A110 1500 | 1967–1968 | stock Lotus Europa Lotus Europa The Lotus Europa was a two door mid-engined GT coupé built by Lotus Cars from 1966 to 1975. In 2006 Lotus began production of a totally new, Lotus Elise-derived design, a mid-engined GT coupé named Europa S.... engine: R16 block |
1470 cc | 82 hp SAE | ||
| A110 1600 | 1969–1970 | 1600 VA | stock R16 TS | 1565 cc | 92 hp SAE | |
| A110 1300 V85 | 1969–1976 | 1300 VC | R12TS | 1289 cc | 81 hp SAE (68 hp DIN) | |
| A110 1600S | 1970–1973 | 1600 VB | tuned R16 TS | 1565 cc | 138 hp SAE (125 hp DIN) | |
| A110 1600S | 1973–1975 | 1600 VC, SC | R17 TS | 1605 cc | 140 hp SAE (126 hp DIN) | |
| A110 1600S SI | 1974–1975 | 1600 VD | R17 TS with fuel injection | 1605 cc | 140 hp SAE (127 hp DIN) | |
| A110 1600S SX | 1976–1978 | stock R16 TX | type 843 | 1647 cc | 93 hp DIN |
Specifications A110 Berlinette (1966)
EngineEngine: Renault
Renault
Renault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, and in the past, autorail vehicles, trucks, tractors, vans and also buses/coaches. Its alliance with Nissan makes it the world's third largest automaker...
1108 cc Straight-4
Straight-4
The inline-four engine or straight-four engine is an internal combustion engine with all four cylinders mounted in a straight line, or plane along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a common crankshaft....
Power output: 98 hp SAE (73 kW) gross; compression ratio 9.6
Chassis/Body
Overall length: 12.633 ft (3.851 m)
Overall width: 4.825 ft (1.471 m)
Height: 3.708 ft (1.130 m)
Turning circle: 30.333 ft (9.246 m)
Wheelbase: 6.885 ft (2.099 m)
Front track: 4.100 ft (1.250 m)
Rear track: 4.000 ft (1.219 m)
Empty weight: 1199 lb (544 kg)
Performance
Top speed: 219 km/h (136 mph)
Unique characteristics: due to the rear-mounted engine there was no air-intake grille on the front of the body. Cooling air was scooped from below the chassis and exhausted thru near-horizontal openings on the rear fenders above and aft of the rear wheels.
Specifications A110 1600S (1970-1973)
EngineEngine: Renault
Renault
Renault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, and in the past, autorail vehicles, trucks, tractors, vans and also buses/coaches. Its alliance with Nissan makes it the world's third largest automaker...
1565 cc Straight-4
Straight-4
The inline-four engine or straight-four engine is an internal combustion engine with all four cylinders mounted in a straight line, or plane along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a common crankshaft....
Power Output: 138 hp SAE (103 kW) gross (125 PS DIN (93 kW))
Transmission
Transmission
Transmission (mechanics)
A machine consists of a power source and a power transmission system, which provides controlled application of the power. Merriam-Webster defines transmission as: an assembly of parts including the speed-changing gears and the propeller shaft by which the power is transmitted from an engine to a...
: 5-Speed Manual
Chassis/Body
Chassis: Steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
backbone
Body Panels: Fiberglass
Fiberglass
Glass fiber is a material consisting of numerous extremely fine fibers of glass.Glassmakers throughout history have experimented with glass fibers, but mass manufacture of glass fiber was only made possible with the invention of finer machine tooling...
Weight: 1367 lb (620 kg)
Length: 159 in (4.039 m)
Width: 59.1 in (1.501 m)
Wheelbase: 89.4 in (2.271 m)
Track (Front/Rear): 48.0 in (1.219 m) / 49.2 in (1.250 m)
Performance
Top speed: 210 km/h (130 mph)
Models
BburagoBburago
Bburago is an Italian model car manufacturer, that was based in Burago di Molgora, Italy, which made mostly diecast cars from 1976 to 2005, and then under the May Cheong group since 2007.-Early years:...
has a kit model of this car, on 1:24 scale. The company produced it before with the original Jean Rédélé livery but after Bburago was bought in 2007 by Maisto (May Cheong Group) and started building the model in China, that was lost to a French-flag motif .
External links
- AR AlpineRenault.com
- FAR Forum about Alpine A110
- Oldest established Alpine Renault Club in UK
- www.renaultalpine.co.uk : UK Renault & Alpine Owners Club and Forum
- RenaultSport's A-110 Rally Heritage
- RenaultSport's A-110 Mexican Version Called Dinalpin
- Mexican Homepage of RenaultSport's A-110 Mexican Version Called Dinalpin
- Picture of the rare Alpine 110 cabriolet (unit built in 1964)