Made in Mexico: ’69 Renault Dinalpin A110
Alpine was a French manufacturer of racing and sports cars that used rear-mounted Renault engines. The founder of Alpine, was originally a Dieppe garage proprietor, who achieved competition success in one of the few French cars produced after WWII. Alpine worked closely with Renault and when the Renault R8 sedan was introduced in 1962, Alpine redeveloped their chassis to allow the use of R8 mechanicals. This new car was the A110 Berlinette TDF. Alpine achieved increasing success in rallying, and by 1968 Renault allocated their entire competition budget. Major successes started in 1968 with outright wins in the Coupe des Alpes. The A110 was equipped with various powerplants throughout its production. In the 15 years, only 7,812 examples were built, including the world famous Group Four Rally cars that won three world championships in the late 1960s. The Alpine had an innovative double Y chassis and fiberglass monocoque body. It did not suffer from the usual bad behavior characteristics of rear-engined cars, and was at home on dirt, ice or on the pavement. Today’s offering comes from a seller who purchased the car out of Mexico where it was built under license along with other Renault models. It needs a little loving – about 20% is left to finish the restoration. The shape is very aerodynamic with many interesting details. One photo has the passenger side door out of whack but that might be the image angle or signs of serious door adjustment required. See the eBay listing by clicking here.