Any Alpine A110 fans here

[Deschodt]

The original car, the A110 berlinette was essentially a french 911 that won a lot of rallyes and is a bit of a cult car in Europe. Always loved it, but took too long to pull the trigger and now it's too expensive for my tastes...

They are doing a rebirth of it, and I confess I love it. Mid-rear engine, it'll be light, 1100 Kg which is impressive. Sadly paddles only, but it sounds glorious !More or less in Cayman S territory in terms of performance. I was on holiday near Paris and stopped by the Studio alpine in Boulogne Billancourt to take a peek before my flight. Here are some pics of the car and the body in metal (aluminum). Great seats too ! Sadly from what I gathered it'll be Europe and Japan only for now, I begged for a US version even if they badge it Nissan (dental floss, badge replacement, done)...

Thought some of you may like the pics.




The original:

[kach22i]

On the new one, does the high belt-line make it look heavy and chunky in real life as it does in photographs?

I think it's a mistake to do a side by side of new and old so-called retro cars because the new stuff always looks obese because of the safety considerations.

https://www.carthrottle.com/post/f6xl7I/


http://www.autotribute.com/46116/10-cool-facts-about-new-alpine-a110-sports-car/

[Don Ro]

20+ yrs. ago. Berlineta.
I don't recall what year mine was. Built in Argentina by the Willys company so it was named Willys Interlagos.
Renault's 3 main bearing engine with Abarth headers, cross flow head with a Weber.
Fiberglass body...a very light car but stress cracks a' plenty.
I didn't have the energy to restore the body so I put an ad in a national mag and sold it to the first caller from L.A., CA. for $3k.
I should have waited.
A few days later a gent from Michigan called to say, "I want your Renault and money is no object."
.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpine_A108
.

[kach22i]

Originally Posted by Don Ro

20+ yrs. ago. Berlineta.
I don't recall what year mine was. Built in Argentina by the Willys company so it was named Willys Interlagos.

Cool, I've not seen one of these before.

[aigel]

Loved them when I was a kid. They were already a classic then. There was a guy on my way to school who had his parked in his driveway. I would drool over it every time I see it. It was blue. Later in life I learned about the limited power and availability in the US, so never engaged.

The new one? Meh. Its like a new Challenger or Camaro. It has some style elements but isn't even in the same zip code as the old car.

G

[scottmandue]

I heard about this (The reissue of the A110) interesting to hear it is really happening.

I presume the price is in the "if you have to ask" range.

[Deschodt]

Not really. 50k to max of 60. Cayman territory.

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by Deschodt

Not really. 50k to max of 60. Cayman territory.

I read the article... competition is Cayman, Alfa, etc.

Would be a very difficult choice.

[yellowperil]

[Wayne 962]

Just recently bought this! Coming over on the ship from Europe soon...

-Wayne

[KFC911]

^^^^^ Wow ... I think I see a problem with that one .... nuthin' left for you to do !

[Captain Ahab Jr]

Yes, I'm a big fan, love the lightness of it, looks great too

Not many modern cars I'd spend money to buy new, this is right near the top of a very short list

[ZOO]

Originally Posted by yellowperil

Reminds me of my mint, one owner, never raced or tracked second generation 1983 Honda Prelude!

[Sooner or later]

Yes

Old or new.

[astrochex]

That is sweet, Wayne. Congrats on the acquisition.

[Deschodt]

Ok Wayne, you now officially suck - the 962 was awesome but did not bring you to that level of envy for me yet - but now you did it - LOL ;-) Congrats on buying my dream car !

Over the last 15y I never could make myself sell my early 911 to trade for the French plastic fantastic, always seemed overpriced to me and more recently I struggled with the CA smog rules too as the car was never imported here and that made importing a post 1966 car hard, there are ways but none fun... I'd be interested to know how you plan on dealing with that (Montana?).

A good friend got one a few years ago in FL (no problem there - no fun roads to use it on though). It was a dinalpin from Mexico and he took a chance and won (only difference is slightly lower value but not much, and slightly thicker fiberglass - a good thing).

I finally got to try it extensively.. Well, at a hair under 6ft, that was a challenge. The car reaches my hip level when standing next to it. Here's my son next to it- he was 8 or 9 at the time, gives you an idea !



Inside, my eyes were between the upper windshield seal and the tinted stripe on the glass you can see above. I had to drive it in SOCKS. The foot well is so small and spacing of the pedals so tight any shoes meant grabbing 2 pedals. Racing boots may work.

The shifting was a bit of a challenge (vague) but could have been that car.. I drew a crowd, even in Clearwater, of course a french dude caught up with me at a light and was beside himself seeing a (din)alpine in FL ! It flew with even a small 1600cc engine and 2 fat bastards in it elbowing one another...

Dream car, but overall for that $, and my size, not for me sadly - I wish you well in that respect. I now dream of the modern one - read a lot on it and also the David Twohig book on its conception and now I want it even more for all the efforts they made passing it thru Carlos Ghosn and going to the lotus lightness ethos. I hope to relocate to France part time in the next 5y and I think it may well happen.

I wish you luck with it, my friend told me the best source for parts was....Home depot ;-)

PS: if you troll French Ebay, they sell a 1/8 model of it (metal) that is fantastic - it was one of those weekly magazines that sell you a part at a time for a year. I bought one and that is as close as I'll get but it's a great model ! might wanna add that to your collection too !

[Deschodt]

here's the model with a 1/18 (left) for size..

PS: if you wish I can put you in touch with my friend if you don't already know where to look for parts. Each time I travel to France I bring him back some alpine magazines with part suppliers... (he's not a forum member)

[Captain Ahab Jr]

JP is one of us, a true car enthusist

Interesting read.....

https://www.evo.co.uk/features/203980/my-life-in-cars-jean-pascal-dauce-alpine-chief-vehicle-engineer

[Deschodt]

Originally Posted by Captain Ahab Jr

JP is one of us, a true car enthusist

Interesting read.....

https://www.evo.co.uk/features/203980/my-life-in-cars-jean-pascal-dauce-alpine-chief-vehicle-engineer

Funny you quote him, I just listened to a podcast from him about the car development, super cool guy ! Highly recommend David Twohig's book, too, not just on alpine but about like as a car engineer/product manager, very interesting...

https://www.amazon.com/Inside-Machine-engineers-automotive-industry/dp/1787117685

[Alan A]

I may be in the minority but I like the new one.

I remember reading a quote about the old one - driving it around a corner is like throwing a hammer handle first. Wish I could attribute it.