RENAULT ALPINE A110 1300 VC

At the age of just 25, Jean Rédélé wasn’t just Renault’s youngest ever concessionaire, he was also a gifted engineer with a passion for motorsport. Utilising tried-and-tested Renault running gear, the talented Rédélé created his own series of agile and lightweight sports cars.

His vision reached its zenith when the beautiful glass fibre bodywork of the A108 was married to a single-tube backbone chassis and the running gear from the Renault R8 saloon to create the A110.

The gradual evolution of the model between 1963 and 1977 resulted in the A110 dominating the world of rallying, winning outright the 1973 World Rally Championship.

This lovely Alpine A110 has just arrived with me having been in the professional hands of Alpine specialist Paul Sage, receiving a full service, a small number of upgrades, plus a pre-sale check over.

He was exceedingly complimentary about this particular Alpine A110 1300, No. 718 of 908 cars, which was built in March, 1975 at the FASA Valladolid plant in northwest Spain. They were the only versions built outside Dieppe, France that were commercialised under the same names and to the same specifications as the French-built cars.

The A110 had been on the last owners "bucket list" for years and eventually during 2019 having flown to Spain to view this car he was able to relieve the "itch". Very sadly his tenure was shorted lived and its only now that his wife has given me the go ahead to allow another to enjoy the Alpine.

Although It was apparent that significant sums had been outlaid, a tally from the history file indicates something approaching 17,000 Euros had been spent in recent years. Upon its arrival in the UK the owner decided to methodically work through the Alpine, actually with an engine out inspection, honing in on items that were really in need replacing or upgrading, not an inexpensive exercise. The end result, is a car that is in both excellent body & mechanical condition and which presents beautifully.

I'm just 6ft and nudging 17.5 stone, once inside, the cabin happily accommodates my frame with plenty of elbow room and fore/aft seat movement...having owned a Ginetta G15 for years it's positively commodious ! The new seats have been trimmed very nicely, full harnesses, roll cage, beautiful Veglia instruments, plus a lovely Heuer time set all add to the sense of occasion....starting easily, the gruff engine note makes its rally pedigree felt.

As the most illustrious of the Alpine range, the A110 is a charismatic sports two-seater that rivalled the early Porsche 911 for performance while being even more exclusive. This fully sorted A110 is a rare sight on the UK roads, especially in this condition, thus an opportunity not to be missed.