Jean Rédélé, the founder of Alpine, was originally a Dieppe garage proprietor who began to achieve success in motorsport with one of the few French cars that were produced just after the Second World War, the Renault 4CV. The company has been closely related to Renault through its history, and was bought by it in 1973.

The Alpine competition department merged into Renault Sport in 1976 and the production of Alpine-badged models ceased in 1995. The Alpine marque was relaunched with the 2017 introduction of the new Alpine A110. In January 2021, as part of a company revamp, Renault announced Renault Sport would be merged back into Alpine to form an Alpine business unit.

a106

The Alpine A106 was the first of a line of light-weight glass-fibre bodied, rear-engined two-door coupés produced for a young competition-oriented Dieppe based Renault dealer called Jean Rédélé. The car was based on mechanical components from the Renault 4CV.

The car was inspired by the “Marquis” a Renault 4CV based coupé, a design acquired for production under licence in the United States but which had never entered production. More direct inspiration came from the “Allemano”, another Renault 4CV based coupé prototype, and maodified by Chappe et Gessalin, the firm that would assemble the early “glass fibre” bodied A106s for Alpine. Under the skin, the A106 closely resembled the 4CV. The more sporting 43 hp  “A106 Mille Miles” would derive from a competition version of the 4CV model developed by Renault.

The number “106” also came from Renault. 1060, 1062 and 1063 were the reference numbers under which the 4CV had been registered with the French homologation authorities.  The Alpine 107 was a steel-bodied prototype, which never entered production.

a108

The Alpine A108 was a light-weight glass-fibre bodied, rear-engined two-door coupé produced for a young competition-oriented Dieppe based Renault dealer called Jean Rédélé. The car replaced the Alpine A106 and was based on mechanical components from the Renault Dauphine.

The 108 was launched at the Paris Motor Show in autumn 1957, but initially production volumes were low and the company’s principal offering continued to be the older 106 model until 1960. 1960 saw the introduction of an Alpine 108 cabriolet and a 2+2 coupé. These versions were slightly longer than the original and featured a newly developed “beams and backbone” chassis. This basic architecture would be used for Alpine sports cars until the Alpine A110 was phased out in 1977.

The 108 played an important part in the transformation of Alpine into a mainstream (though always low volume) car producer.

a110

Launched in 1961 the A110, like previous road-going Alpines, used many Renault parts, including engines. While its predecessor the A108 was designed around Dauphine components, the A110 was updated to use R8 parts. Unlike the A108, which was available first as a cabriolet and only later as a coupé, the A110 was available first as a Berlinette and then as a cabriolet. The most obvious external difference with the A108 coupé was restyled rear bodywork. Done to accommodate the A110's larger engine, this change gave the car a more aggressive look. Like the A108, the A110 featured a steel backbone chassis and a fiberglass body. The A110 was originally offered with 1.1 L R8 Major or R8 Gordini engines. The Gordini engine has a power output of 95 hp. The A110 achieved most of its fame in the early 1970s as a successful rally car. After winning several rallies in France in the late 1960s with the cast-iron R8 Gordini Cléon-Fonte engines the car was fitted with the aluminium-block Cléon-Alu from the Renault 16 TS. With two twin-venturi Weber 45 carburetors, the TS engine has a power output of 125 hp.

As well as being built at Alpine's own Dieppe factory, versions of the A110 were built under license by various other vehicle manufacturers around the world. From 1965 to 1974 the car was produced in Mexico under the name "Dinalpin" by Diesel Nacional (DINA), who also produced Renault vehicles. From 1967 to 1969, the A110 was also produced in Bulgaria under the name "Bulgaralpine" by a partnership formed between SPC Metalhim and ETO Bulet, whose collaboration also resulted in the production of the Bulgarrenault.

a310

1971-1976

The first model of the A310, built 1971-1976, was a car with a four-cylinder engine and six headlights. Being larger, heavier, and no more powerful than its predecessor, the A310 was generally considered underpowered. The car was first shown at the 1971 Geneva Motor Show. The prototype A310 had louvres across the rear windscreen; these were not carried over to the production model. Early models had a NACA duct mounted near the window atop the left front fender, later four-cylinder cars received two, mounted closer to the front of the car. In 1976, to help flagging sales, the lower-cost A310 SX was presented. This model has a 95 PS  version of the Renault 16/17's 1647 cc inline-four and simplified equipment.

 The A310 was labor-intensive, having been developed for small-scale artisanal production - a car took 130 hours to build from start to finish. The front axle also came in for some criticism, although in 1974 the balljoint mountings were replaced by rubber/steel bushings (silent-blocs) which somewhat improved durability. While many components of the A310 came from the Renault parts shelf as expected, others are more surprising - the steering rack is from the Peugeot 504, while the turn signals are Simca 1301 units.

In 1976 the A310 was restyled by Robert Opron and fitted with the more powerful and newly developed 90-degree 2664 cc V6 PRV engine, as used in some Renaults, Volvos and Peugeots. 

With 150 PS  on tap, the A310 PRV V6 was Renault's performance flagship capable of 220 km/h  and acceptable acceleration. The tail-heavy weight distribution gave handling characteristics similar to the contemporary Porsche 911. Sales did pick up, more than doubling those of the four-cylinder predecessor, but then tapered off as production continued without any updates to make it a serious Porsche competitor in the marketplace. Sales were predominantly in France, with 781 cars sold in its home market in 1979 (its best year). By 1984 less than five hundred Alpines were sold in France, while Porsche sold about 1600 in spite of industrial strikes in Germany.

gta

It was the first car launched by Alpine under Renault ownership (though Alpine had been affiliated with Renault for many years, with its earlier models using many Renault parts). Longer, wider, and taller, it effectively updated the design of its predecessor, the Alpine A310, updating that car's silhouette with modern design features like body-integrated bumpers and a triangular C-pillar with large rear windshield. Like its predecessor, it used the V6 PRV engine in a rear-engined layout, with extensive use of Polyester plastics and fibreglass for the body panels making it lighter and quicker than rivals such as the Porsche 944. Passenger room increased, making the rear seat more of a useful proposition, while equipment was much more complete and now included items such as power locks.  It was one of the most aerodynamic cars of its time, the naturally aspirated version achieved a record 0.28 drag coefficient in its class

a610

The successor to the Alpine GTA, the Alpine A610 was produced by the Renault-owned French manufacturer Alpine from 1991 to 1995. Due to a limited budget at the beginning of the project, its appearance does not differ much from the GTA, and it looks quite similar to the USA GTA with its pop-up headlights. Nonetheless, it is a completely different car, sharing only the windows with the GTA. The basic concepts of all Alpine cars are there (e.g. the rear engine, and the steel backbone chassis that all Alpines since the A110 have had). The car was solely branded as an Alpine, as linking Alpine and Renault together (first as Alpine-Renault then Renault-Alpine) seemed to detract from the Alpine brand's sporty image. The PRV engine remained, but it was enlarged to 3.0 litres  which enabled it to produce 250 PS  at 5750 rpm and 350 N⋅m  of torque at 2900 rpm. The engine was originally 2975 cc, but as with all PRV engines, it was downsized to 2963 cc  in March 1993 to better fit the Swiss taxation system.

a110-50

The Alpine A110-50 (codenamed ZAR for "Alpine revival", with Z being the letter used for Renault concepts) is a concept racing car created by Renault to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1962 Alpine A110.  It debuted at Monaco's GP circuit, where Renault Chief Operating Officer Carlos Tavares raced the A110-50 for four laps of the Monaco track. The Alpine A110-50 has all carbonfibre bodywork, a mid-engine layout, and tubular frame. It is built upon the same platform and shares its mechanicals with the Sport Mégane Trophy race car.

With a naturally aspirated 395-hp variation of the Mégane Trophy's 3.5-liter V6 based on the Nissan VQ engine, it has a 456bhp/ton power-to-weight ratio. The inlet manifold is fed by a new roof-mounted air intake which broadens the engine's power band, with additional horsepower at all engine speeds.

Designer Yann Jarsalle and Concept and Show Car Director Axel Breun based the A110-50 on the same design language introduced with the DEZIR concept car, but incorporated several design cues from the original A110.

a110

Based on an all-aluminium construction, the A110 is powered by a 1.8-litre turbocharged gasoline direct injection 4 valves per cylinder inline-four engine mated to 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission manufactured by Getrag. Developed by Renault–Nissan and reworked by Alpine engineers, the engine has an output of 252 PS  at 6,000 rpm and 320 N⋅m  of torque at 2000–5000 rpm. According to Alpine, the A110 can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h  in 4.5 seconds, and has an electronically limited top speed of 250 km/h.

The A110 is available in three trims: Pure, Première, and Legende. The Pure cars, the base trim, have 17-inch alloy wheels. The Première trim cars are technically the launch edition models which were limited to 1,955 units and were equipped with amenities such as forged alloy wheels, quilted leather Sabelt bucket sports seats, a reversing camera, and metallic blue exterior colour as standard. The Legende trim cars come with six-way adjustable sports seats, black or brown leather interior upholstery, and an upgraded hi-fi sound system along with specially designed wheels exclusive to this trim. All of the three trims share the same powertrain and transmission.

Introduced in June 2019, the A110S is a high performance and lightweight variant of the A110. The A110S benefits from increased power output (from 252 to 292 PS  from its 1.8-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine as well as stiffer springs, new anti-rollbars, dampers, and carbon-ceramic brakes as sassed equipment. 

https://www.alpinecars.com/en/modele-a110s

a290

2024-present

The A290 is an electric sports city car from the French car manufacturer Alpine, based on the Renault 5 Electric marketed from July 30, 2024. The A290 is based on the AmpR Small technical platform, formerly known as Renault's CMF-B EV and takes over the structure of the electric R5. The A290 is equipped with 19-inch alloy wheels, fender flares and Full LED headlamps with an X-shaped light signature mimicking the R5 Alpine.

The Alpine A290 uses the wound rotor synchronous electric motor from the Renault Megane E-Tech Electric, which is manufactured in France, in the Cléon Megafactory. It is available in two power outputs: 180 and 220 hp.

A single battery is fitted to the A290, with a capacity of 52 kWh.

After a long spell away from motorsport, there was a desire to rekindle the flame and taste victory once more. In 2013, Signatech-Alpine Team Principal Philippe Sinault was tasked with leading the manufacturer’s triumphant return to the racetrack. Thirty-five years after its triumph at Le Mans, Alpine made its circuit racing comeback in 2013, with an LMP2 prototype. Alpine lost no time recovering its place at the top of the podium. After securing back-to-back European Le Mans Series crowns in 2013 and 2014, Signatech-Alpine stepped up to the World Endurance Championship in 2015, claiming the LMP2 crown in 2016 and 2019, and earning class wins at Le Mans in 2016, 2018 and 2019.

Beyond Alpine’s switch to the World Endurance Championship’s Hypercar class and its assault on Le Mans in August, Alpine faces numerous motorsport challenges this season, including participating in the Formula One championship for the first time.

Alpine has also re-entered rallying, in which it reaped its first success of the 2021 campaign half a century after the brand notched up its first Monte Carlo Rally victory. The triumph came from a privately entered Alpine A110 Rally, topping the R-GT order on this year’s winter classic, proving that the brand has lost none of its winning DNA.

alpenglow

2022

The Alpine Alpenglow Hy4 is a hydrogen-powered concept car from French automaker Alpine, unveiled in October 2022.

The Alpenglow takes its name from a beautiful natural phenomenon. From front to rear, its carbon bodywork is carved for the racetrack. Aerodynamic new alloy wheels and magenta accents mark out Alpine’s ‘feel at one’ cockpit.

Based on a concept car first presented at the 2022 Paris Motor Show, the 340 bhp Alpenglow Hy4 is powered by a turbocharged 2.0-litre in-line four-cylinder internal combustion engine fuelled by hydrogen.

This is currently stored in gas form in three tanks, but Alpine plans to switch to liquid storage which it believes can be better integrated into the car and improve refuelling speeds.

The Alpenglow is built around an LMP3 carbon chassis supplied by Ligier and a sequential racing gearbox. Alpine says its performance is comparable to the petrol equivalent, capable of reaching top speeds of approximately 270 km/h.

a521

The Alpine A521, is a Formula One car designed by the Alpine F1 Team, currently competing in the 2021 Formula One World Championship. It is being driven by Fernando Alonso, marking his return to the sport, and Esteban Ocon. It is the first to be fielded under the team's Alpine name. Alpine F1 Team consists of the Alpine A521 chassis, developed and manufactured in Enstone (United Kingdom), whilst the Renault E-Tech 21 power unit is developed in Viry-Châtillon (France).

ENGINE

• Displacement 1.6L V6
• Number of cylinders 6
• Number of valves 4 per cylinder, 24
• Configuration 90° V6
• Rev limit 15,000 rpm
• Pressure charging Single turbocharger, unlimited boost pressure (typical 5 bar abs)
• Fuel flow limit 100kg/h
• Permetted fuel quantity per race Max 110 kg
• Bore 80 mm
• Stroke 53 mm
• Crank height 90 mm
• FuelDirect fuel injection

ENERGY RECOVERY SYSTEMS

• MGU-K rpmMax 50,000rpm
• MGU-K powerMax 120 kW
• Energy recovered by MGU-KMax 2 MJ/lap
• Energy released by MGU-KMax 4 MJ/lap
• MGU-H rpm>100,000rpm
• Energy recovered by MGU-HUnlimited

GENERAL

• WeightMin 150kg
• Number of Power Units permitted per driver in 20203 ICE/Turbo/MGU-H/MGU-K and 2 ES/CU 8 sets of engine exhausts
• Total horsepowerMore than 950 hp

The team entity has a long history, first competing in Formula One in 1981 as Toleman, when the team was based in Witney, England. In 1986, following its purchase by Benetton Group, it was renamed and competed as Benetton. As Benetton, it won the 1995 Constructors' Championship and its driver, Michael Schumacher, won two Drivers' Championships - 1994 and 1995. Prior to the 1992 season it moved to its current location in Enstone, UK. By the 2000 season, Renault had purchased the team (for the first time), and by the 2002 season its name was changed to Renault F1 Team, and it was racing as Renault. Renault won the Constructors's Championship in 2005 and 2006 and its driver, Fernando Alonso won the Drivers' Championships in the same two years. In 2011, Lotus Cars came onboard as a sponsor, and the team's name changed to Lotus Renault GP, though still racing as just "Renault" for that season. By 2012 Genii Capital had a majority stake in the team, and from 2012 until 2015 the team's name was Lotus F1 Team, after its branding partner, and it raced as "Lotus". At the end of 2015 Renault had taken over the team for a second time, renaming it to Renault Sport Formula One Team. The team raced as "Renault" again, from 2016, and continued as such until the end of the 2020 season.

1968  a350

The involvement of the sportscar manufacturer Automobiles Alpine in Formula One can be traced back to 1968, when the Alpine A350 Grand Prix car was built, powered by a Gordini V8 engine. However, after initial testing with Mauro Bianchi at Zandvoort, the project was ended when it was found that the engine produced around 300 horsepower compared to the Cosworth V8 engines' 400.  In 1975 the company produced the Alpine A500 prototype to test a 1.5 L V6 turbo engine for the Renault factory team which would eventually début in 1977.

Gordini is a division of Renault Sport Technologies (Renault Sport). In the past, it was a sports car manufacturer and performance tuner, established in 1946 by Amédée Gordini, nicknamed "Le Sorcier" (The Sorcerer). Gordini became a division of Renault in 1968 and of Renault Sport in 1976.

Amédée Gordini tuned cars and competed in motor races since the 1930s. His results prompted Simca (the French assembler of Fiat) to hire him for its motorsport program and to develop road cars. Their association continued after World War II.

In 1946, Gordini introduced the first cars bearing his name, Fiat-engined single-seaters raced by him and Jose Scaron, achieving several victories.

Gordini competed in Formula One from 1950 to 1956 (with a brief return in 1957 with an eight cylinder engine), although it achieved a major success in Formula Two during that period.

After its Formula One program ended, Gordini worked with Renault as an engine tuner, entering Renault-Gordini cars at the 24 Hours of Le Mans between 1962 and 1969. It also tuned engines for Alpine, a rival sports car manufacturer also associated with Renault. In 1957, Gordini and Renault manufactured the Dauphine Gordini, a modified version of the Renault Dauphine which was a sales success.

18s

Just two new Type 18S Gordinis were built. The tubular chassis, numbered 020 and 021. Designed and built by Gordini, the bodywork was highly original, made entirely from Duralumin and with great care taken over its aerodynamics. The 1491cc Type 15C engine was fitted with a Wade RO15 supercharger made from magnesium and was rated as equivalent to a 2982cc naturally-aspirated unit. Chassis no. 020S (S for Sport), fitted with engine no. 16, was allocated to Fangio and González (no. 33), while chassis no. 021S, with engine no. 18, was assigned to Trintignant and Manzon (no. 32).

In Formula 1 spec, the 15C engines developed 138–140bhp at 5500rpm. But in Le Mans trim, their power was reduced because of the ACO regulations which stipulated the use of commercially available 80-octane petrol. This did not prevent Fangio from reaching 235kph on the Hunaudières, as fast as Louis Rosier’s 4.5-litre Talbot T26GS (11055).

dauphine

The Renault Dauphine is a rear-engined economy car manufactured by Renault in a single body style – a three-box, 4-door sedan – as the successor to the Renault 4CV; more than two million were manufactured during its 1956–1967 production.

The Gordini version was offered with a 4-speed transmission, four-wheel disc brakes from 1964 and increased horsepower, performance tuned by Amédée Gordini to 37 hp. Both Dauphine Gordini and Ondine Gordini variants were offered.

r1134

The Renault 8 (Renault R8 until 1964) and Renault 10 are two rear-engined, rear-wheel drive small family cars produced by the French manufacturer Renault in the 1960s and early 1970s.

A more powerful version, the 8 model R1134 Gordini, was released in 1964, with a tuned engine of the same capacity but developing 90 PS.  The R1134 Gordini was originally available only in blue, with two stick-on white stripes. It was also distinguishable from the 8 Major by the bigger 200mm headlamp units. In 1965, the Renault 10 Major, a more luxurious version of the 8 with different front and rear styling, was released, replacing the 8 Major.

In 1967, the R8 Gordini (model R1135) received a facelift including two additional headlights (in effect Cibie Oscar driving lights), and its engine upgraded to a 1255cc unit rated at 100 PS.

At the end of 1968, Gordini retired and sold a 70% majority stake from his firm to Renault. Renault-Gordini was moved to Viry-Châtillon in 1969 and became a sport division of Renault, before being merged with Alpine to form Renault Sport in 1976. On 1 January 1976, René Vauillat became director of Gordini. The Gordini company name became wholly owned by Renault in 1977.

Renault sold Gordini-badged performance versions of models including the Renault 5, the Renault 8 the Renault 12 and the Renault 17.

Since its early Renault models the most characteristic colour scheme of Gordini cars has been bleu de France (the French motor racing colour) with white stripes, although different combinations have been used over the years.

In November 2009, Renault announced that it would be reviving the Gordini name for an exclusive line of hot hatches, in a similar fashion to Fiat's revival of its Abarth name. Modern models to bear the name include the Renault Twingo and the Renault Clio.

type 16

The Gordini T16 was a Formula 2 racing car that was developed by Gordini in 1952 and also used in the Formula 1 World Championship until 1957. In 1952, the T16 was Gordini's first new monoposto development since the late 1940s. With the Gordini T15 , Jean-Pierre Wimille had some successes in 1948. The vehicles were small, light and fast, but had a filigree tubular space frame.  The first engine was a 2-liter six-cylinder unit with a double camshaft and two Weber carburetors that developed 170 hp. The car was developed according to the technical regulations of Formula 2.

In 1954 , the T16s were adapted to the new Formula 1 regulations and received a new 2.5-liter engine. However, the engine was too heavy for the light frame, so that this year was mainly characterized by breakdowns. At the end of the year the T16s were sold to private drivers and the team concentrated on developing the successor model, the T32 .

type 32

Eight-cylindercars. A completely new Gordini was a novelty, and the T32 straight eight unveiled at Montlhery late in the summer of 1955 looked promising. Gordini clung to a ladder-type tubular chassis, but used independent suspension all round and the Messier disc brakes that had been brought in on the late sixes. Its straight eight (75 x 70mm, 2498cc) was the last of the type in a formula car and was initially rated at 250bhp, although that figure was revised down at the end of the year. It had a corpulent body, which was smooth only until the realities of racing called for revision. Only two were built, and they proved large, heavy and uncompetitive. The Gordini eight was last seen at Pau early in 1957.