Alpine A110

Alpine, before they became a subsidiary group of the Renault empire, was a company based in Dieppe that specialized in making, basic Renaults, much faster. They turned them into sports cars.

A perennial favourite of mine is the Alpine A310. Opron's signature hooded lamps, and flowing body is beefed up immensely to make one of the most aggressive sports cars Europe has ever produced. And it's predecessor was the A110.

With it's 'froggy' shape, through a twelve year production run, I4 engines running in size from 1.1-1.6 litres, and at the very end, upgraded to a double wishbone suspension setup, the A110 was transformed into a phenomenally successful rally car. Incorporating a steel chassis, bonded to a fibreglass body, the RR (rear engine, rear drive) setup gave the A110 a huge natural advantage and allowed it to compete with the Stratos and the 911. Numerous manufacturers produced the model under different names, worldwide, and only total exhaustion of it's performance envelope - engine modifications including fuel injection stopped providing any further gains - led to it's end.

Probably it's most famous win came in 1971, when the Swede, Ove Andersson won the Monte Carlo Rally.