The mere mention of the name "Alpine" to any car, or rally enthusiast for that matter, will mostly conjure up a vivid image of one blue bean-shaped micro sports car hammering it down the twists and turns of Col de Turini. Piloted by Frenchman Jean-Luc Thérier as he tries to keep the wild little spice mongrel at bay. It is to everyone's knowledge that the Alpine A110 holds a very special spot at the "Rally Hall of Fame". Being the very first car that won the illustrious World Rally Championship, and being the company's most successful model, it is testament to founder Jean Rédélé's principal that a car will be successful in both sales and motorsports had it been tried and tested in the most gruelling conditions of racing. The small French sports division always had a small connection to Renault, borrowing parts from some of the brand's lineup of cars for their own bespoke automobiles, but it wasn't until 1971 when the diamond-shaped manufacturer bought the rights to Alpine, effectively dethroning Rédélé as head honcho. In 1976 the brand was further merged with Renault's very own sports division, Renault Sport, and from here on is where things started to get interesting.
With the acquisition of Alpine as a subsidiary of Renault, the company wanted to re-shape the brand to make it more acceptable to the global market. Sure the A110 Berlinettas were a huge success, but they soon realize that it's not going to last forever. Hence, in 1971 they released the A310 coupe. Still rear-engined just like its previous predecessor, but now having a larger V6 engine as one of its three engine options and a striking wedge-shaped body design. Even if it sold well over 11,616 units, the fact was that the car struggled to compete in popularity among some of the more established GTs, namely cars like the Porsche 92X series. Renault, seeing the imminent doom of their weird GT model and possibly their profits too had they kept on producing the ill-fated A310, decided to pull the plug in 1984. By this time, they had also bought America's American Motor Company or AMC, and in a bright feat of ideas, the new acquisition of the American-based car manufacturer meant that Renault is now able to venture into American soil and secure a possible prime demographic of eager French car buyers. Plans for a new, improved grand touring coupe capable of rivaling the best of German offerings was well underway, with the hopes that the car could extract major profits in the US.
The 1985 Geneva Motor Show saw the first glimpse of Alpine/Renault's new entry into the luxury GT market. The Alpine GTA, or short for Grand Tourisme Alpine, was still based on the 1971 A310, retaining a similarly weird wedge-shaped design. Designer group-in-charge Heulliez wanted to evoke a familiar feeling with the car's design language, the feeling that its not too far apart from the previous A310, yet at the same time bringing something new to the table. Head designer of the Alpine GTA project Gérard Godfroy worked on a one-fifth clay scale model of the vehicle for weeks, which at the time was coded under the designation D50. By the time 75% of the design was finished, he only needed to work on the front fascia, which by that point was still a blank canvas. The story goes that during a short vacation of his, he was contacted by Alpine that the car will need to be released in a very short period of time. Panicked, he urgently asked a model maker to improvise on the front end design. Surprisingly enough, the sudden improv was approved by Renault higher-ups, and what resulted was this boxy, slightly uninspiring front end with boxy headlights and a mundane bumper. Despite this, Alpine's GTA managed to score a mind-boggling 0.28 Cd drag coefficient, which for 1985, was nothing short of sensational. On a side note, Godfroy also addressed the A310's lack of visibility issues by designing transparent C-Pillars on the GTA, effectively making the car's rear windshield a panoramic glass dome instead of the usual one-panel affair. A bit avant-garde as one might say, but, this car was already avant-garde from the get go.
Initially, Alpine's GTA was only offered with a V6 GT trim. Powered by a bigger version of its previously used Peugeot-Renault-Volvo (or PRV in short) V6 engine found in the A310 V6 model, sourced from Renault's 25 model. Compared to the predecessor's 2.7 liter (2664cc) displacement, the new engine now displaces 2.8 liters (2849cc) instead. What didn't change however was the use of carburetors like the previous A310s; two Solex carbs were tasked to provide fuel delivery for the early GTAs, and in summary, the naturally-aspirated, 2.8 L, carbureted, SOHC Z6W-A 700 coded V6 managed to pump a laughable 160PS at 6000 RPM, with torque figures claimed at 225 newton-meters at 2750-4000 RPM. Although torque was somewhat satisfactory, and 0-60 times was "okay" with a 8.5 sec mark, the lack of power in what is essentially a GT chassis became the main criticism of early GTAs by press journalists. By 1985, Renault offered a second "improved" version of the GTA, now called as the V6 Turbo. As the name suggests, the lads at Dieppe (which was where the car was produced) managed to cram a Garrett T3 turbocharger into a de-sized 2.5 L (2458cc) version of the PRV V6. Coded as the Z7U-300, this fuel-injected counterpart of the Z6W-A 700 engine now produces a more reasonable 200PS at 5500 RPM and 288 newton-meters of torque at 2200-4000 RPM. This boosted the car's 0-60 time from the previous 8.5 to a now acceptable 6.3 seconds, garnering the eventual praise of car journalists. All GTAs were only available in 5-speed manuals, with the gearbox itself taken from the same Renault 25 donor, driving the rear wheels in classic Alpine rear-engined, rear-wheel drive fashion. A French 911, if you will.
The interior didn't exactly embody the best of grand touring cars, what with some of its bits and pieces being taken from road-going Renault cars such as the aforementioned Renault 25 (you'd be surprised how many Renault 25 parts were used during the creation of this car) and the use of cheap industry-grade dashboard plastic, which became another point of critisicm for the GTA when compared to its more established rivals such as Aston Martin Vantage and Porsche 911. However, apart from the gear knob being shared with the Renault 25, the similarity ends there, as the rest were all bespoke, retro 80s designed clusters, sporty three-spoke steering wheel, and a oh-so-80s looking adjustable sports seats with side lumbars and funky headrests. Being a 2+2 GT, the GTA also made room for rear seats, which were enough to be occupied by 2 average adults, a luxury considering that this is technically a sports car. GTA Turbos differed slightly from the V6 models by having boost gauges on the dash, but for the most part, it retained much of the same interior. Of course, luxuries were also offered in the GTA by form of electronic door opening assists, air-conditioning, electric heated side mirrors for 1987, and in 1989 also came with an ABS option. Truly options that were meant for the most luxurious of Renaults, the GTA being no exception.
What was not a shame however was the car's footwork and body. Utilizing a central backbone chassis similarly found in their previous A310, it enabled the GTA to adopt the 25's front double-wishbone suspension system, while the rear double-wishbone system was taken directly from the A310. Fiber-reinforced plastics was used all over the car's body, drawing similarities to its grandfather, the A110. The central backbone chassis design also enabled the GTA to have reduced rear overhang length. This along with its rear-engine, rear-wheel drive layout, 37:63 front-rear weight distribution, as well as its quick steering rack taken from the Renault Fuego, made for a surprisingly tight and nippy car around the corners. Tipping the scales at an unbelievably light 1147 kg (1187 kg for Turbo models), Alpine GTAs quickly became unassuming Seine missiles for the unweary, with its weight and power advantage allowing it to keep up with even the best of GT sports cars. The sheer performance and handling potential would have made these Alpine GTAs a worthy contender in the world of motorsport. However, not many Alpine GTAs raced officially, and even if they were, most of them would have disappeared in the history books, probably undocumented. But, this wasn't the end for the wedge-shaped Alpine's racing history, as Renault managed to finance a dedicated one-make series known as the Alpine GTA Europa Cup. A support series for F1 races of its time. The series saw one-make modified V6 Turbo GTAs pushing north of 280PS battle it out on the world's most exclusive F1 circuits. 69 (yes, 69) one-make racers were produced from 1984 to 1987, with the series itself running for approximately the same time frame.
Over the years of its production, there have been a number of special edition models being released. In 1989, the chassis-numbered 100-unit Mille Miles limited edition was unveiled. This special GTA now boasts a full, leather clad interior, with bespoke Mille Miles red paint and turbine wheels polished with a shinier finish than standard. ABS also comes as standard, as well as special Mille Miles silver offset bonnet stripes with the Alpine logo emblazoned on the front lower right corner. The most remembered (or in some cases the most hated) out of all the special editions were the 300-limited GTA Le Mans cars. With a new aero kit, widened arches, and 3-piece ACT-brand "BBS-style" wheels, one could hope for a more powerful engine to go along with its handsomely improved appearance. But no, due to French emission regulations Renault unfortunately had to restrict the engine with a catalytic converter, dropping the V6 Turbo-based GTA LM's power from 200 to 185 PS. The outcry for the drop in power was so large, that in 1990 Renault asked Danielson SA to re-map the vehicle's ECU, finally making the engine output 210PS from the restricted 185PS figure it had, much to the delight and frantic joy of many GTA LM owners of course. Remember how Renault also wanted to venture into the American markets in hopes for a quick profit grab? Well, they hatched a plan involving their rear-engined GT by creating a USDM compliant version of their GTA grand tourers. called the "GTA USA". However, soon this was not to be.
The USDM GTAs were intended to have US-safety regulation front and rear bumpers, as well as unique USDM-only pop-up headlights, replacing the fixed headlights of the European GTAs. About 21 units were put into production soon after the project was greenlit, but, fate told a different story. On the 17th of November 1986, Renault's then-CEO Georges Besse was brutally shot down and killed during his trip back home, this sent shockwaves throughout the company's directories, and in turn causing a number of decisions to be made in the near future, one of them being the giveaway of their American Motor Company ownership in 1987. With no more "connections" to the American market, Renault cut ties completely with the US, and as such, the USDM GTA wasn't meant to be. The remaining 21 cars were eventually sold off to select French customers, and has now become one of the rarest "special edition" Alpine GTAs to have ever graced on this faithful Earth. At the end of its production in 1990, a total of 6494 units were sold, 5000 less than what the A310 sold prior, and thus failing Renault's goal of making a more popular Alpine for the masses, maybe it was the looks and styling, which to be fair, can be somewhat of an acquired taste.
The end of the GTA paved way for the new Alpine A610 in 1991. Practically a heavily-revised, heavily modified version of the GTA in part due to cost-saving measures, it now features vast improvements and changes over its previous "predecessor". With the A610, aero has been revised with a new front fascia design, now having softened edges, a newly designed lower grille, and most noticeable of all, the adoption of pop-up headlights similar to the ones used in the Alpine GTA USA concepts. Despite the revision, the car surprisingly maintained its 0.30 Cd factor. Was this the front end that Godfroy envisioned in the beginning? We may never know. What we do know is that the car retained the same backbone chassis design as well as its Renault 25 and Alpine A310 sourced double-wishbone suspension, now reinforced and improved from the previous model. Weight distribution was also changed from 37:63 to a more balanced 43:57 by relocating the spare tire, battery, and ABS pump to the front of the car. An extra 10mm in stroke and an up in displacement to 3.0 L (2975cc) helped the newly revised PRV V6 Turbo engine to produce a more powerful 250 PS rating at 5200 RPM and 350 newton-meters of torque at 2900 RPM-5200 RPM, which many consider to be a flat torque curve. The interior has also been subject to revitalization with a re-designed dash covered in soft-touch materials, as well as velvet seats which improved in quality over the last GTA. New speed-sensitive power steering, air-con, CD player, and Pioneer speakers also added to the car's new premium luxury feel.
Journalists again praised the handling of the A610 to have vastly improved over the slight nervousness of the GTA. Packed with adequate engine power as well, it was finally able to stand its own ground against the big boys of the grand touring class. A much better car than the GTA it was, but, with a starting price of 400,000 francs back in the day, which equalled that of a Porsche, and not to mention its 250 kg weight gain from the previous model, many potential buyers found it hard to prefer the quirky French sportster over the tried and true German. Alas, sales of the A610 was a MONUMENTAL disaster, only selling 818 cars during its production run from 1991 to 1995. A far, far cry from even the GTA's 6494 units. Renault didn't see this as a profitable income for their business, and as such, pulled the plug on all Alpine cars in the same year that the A610 stopped production. It took them a full 20 years to finally revive the brand name again, and this time, instead of experimenting on radical ideas, they went back to the drawing board and gave birth to a neo-retro designed A110 in similar fashion to Fiat's current 500 line-up. Unlike the failed A310, GTA, and A610 of 70s, 80s, and 90s past, the modern take on their iconic rallye classic proved to be a success, ensuring a bright future ahead for the Alpine brand. Despite the new A110 garnering massive praise however, the A610 and GTA looks back at a time when Renault dared to do something completely different, not to mention extremely risky. As a final note, the two "GTA siblings" might not have been a successful car, and to some it might have left a bitter aftertaste to the brand's long history of French automobiles, but damn was it one of a kind.
Ahead of its time? Not quite. Avant-garde? It very much was.
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