Lot 216: 1969 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 Redele, 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 Coupé des Alpes in 1950 and three 750cc class wins in the 1952-54 Mille Miglias. It was then that Redele decided to build his own cars, appropriately choosing Alpine as the marque name. Societe Automobiles Alpine was duly formed in 1955 with the A106 as the first model using modified Renault 4CV running gear. The following year an A106 won its class in the Mille Miglia; notably a Sport model was to join the line-up in 1959 using Alpine's first tubular backbone chassis. Variants with up to 950cc engines followed - a steel-bodied A107 was dropped - before the A108 of 1957. It was 1963, however, when the most familiar body style appeared in the form of the Renault R8-based A110 which used 1,100 to 1,800cc engines during 15 years of production. It also cemented an enviable competition record, its rear engine layout a major advantage in international rallying. Such was its success that the Dieppe concern became Renault's official competition arm in 1971, when Alpine repeated its 1969 feat of a 1-2-3 in the Coupes des Alpes; in 1973 a 170bhp A110 also won the World Rally Championship and the following year Renault took control. Chassis BOO263 was built in Spain in early 1969 and was first imported to Great Britain on February 1st 1990. Its current registration number, TOR 130G, was allocated in 1998, and a year later it was purchased by its current owner. Between 2000 and 2001, the car was subject to extensive improvements and modifications, including moving the radiator to the front, moving the battery mount, fitting rear disc brakes, a rose-jointed gear lever, a five speed gearbox, a quick ratio steering rack and Aeroquip brake lines. In addition, the front suspension was adjusted to give three degrees negative camber, seven degrees castor and parallel toe-in. In 2003, the engine was rebuilt to fast road specification (producing 104bhp) by Alpine specialist Salv Sacco. The car has also been fitted with a Retrotrip meter for historic rallying, spot lamp mounts with Cibie Oscar high performance racing lamps, a new handbrake cable and new front shock absorbers. This Renault-Alpine has enjoyed a very successful recent race history, winning first in class no less than five times between 2000 and 2004 at the ACSMC Sprint Championship and the All Circuit Sprint Championship, as well as finishing second in class at the All Circuit event in 2002. A unique high-performance machine with some extensive modifications, the car is fully equipped for maximum performance in race events, and offers a unique opportunity to participate in historic motor sport activities.