Compromised Internals

Overview Specs Highlights Characteristics

Overview

Jean Rédélé's Alpine A110 Berlinette combined a low-mass glass-fibre body over a structural steel backbone chassis with Renault-based mechanical components and an engine mounted behind the rear axle. The 1.6-litre A110 1600S and related road/rally models made Alpine a dominant early-1970s rally force. But 'A110 1600' does not identify every 1973 championship-winning engine: event entries often specify the larger A110 1800 rally evolution.

The FIA Historic Database records an Alpine A110 1600 Group 4 form 624 effective January 1970 at 1,565 cc, and the long-running Alpine Renault A110-1600 Group 3 form 3035 at 1,565 cc starting October 1970. A later Group 3 A110 1600 form 3068 used 1,605 cc from 1975. These records do not by themselves prove that the 1973 works 1.8-litre Sanremo winner retained the same 1,565 cc engine. The evolving homologation history needs model, form and event year together.

In 1973, the first WRC season awarded a manufacturers' crown but not an individual world drivers' championship. Alpine-Renault collected six WRC victories: Monte Carlo, Portugal, Morocco, Acropolis, Sanremo and Corsica. Alpine's own corporate retrospective specifies a Monaco one-two-three and a late Sanremo win for Jean-Luc Thérier; the title was secured with three rallies left. Attribution to the marque and A110 family is accurate, while calling all six wins 1.6-litre A110 1600S victories would not be.

Technical Specs & Innovations

Homologated core model: Alpine A110 1600, lightweight rear-engined Berlinette
FIA early Group 4 form: 624, A110 1600 1,565 cc RWD, effective 2 January 1970; historical form expires 1971
FIA Group 3 long form: 3035, Alpine Renault A110 1600 1,565 cc RWD, effective 2 October 1970
FIA later form boundary: A110 1600 1,605 cc Group 3 form 3068 from April 1975, distinct homologation
1973 works-spec distinction: A110 1800 Group 4 rally versions appear in 1973 event results; do not assign all works entries the 1,565 cc FIA 1600 form
Engine family: Renault-derived naturally aspirated inline-four, with year- and competition-specific capacity changes
Engine installation: Rear longitudinal engine aft of the passenger compartment and rear axle
Driven axle: Rear-wheel drive via competition transaxle and differential
Original road tune caution: A110 1600S period road power varied by market, engine and year; no works dyno curve established by the basic FIA displacement field
Competition engine evolution: Cylinder capacity and fuel/carburrettor tuning developed from 1600 to about 1800 cc for some 1973 works cars
Fuel delivery: Carburetted and competition engine configurations evolved; avoid generic fuel-injection claims for every A110
Transmission: Renault-derived manual transaxle with competition ratios, gearing and final drive based on event
Chassis centre: Central steel backbone carrying front and rear mechanical structures
Body material: Lightweight moulded glass-fibre/resin body, not a conventional full-steel mass-production saloon
Cabin: Compact two-seat coupe for a driver and co-driver with rally-specific instrumentation
Competition reinforcement: Roll cage, impact and underbody protection, reinforcing points and safety equipment
Front suspension: Independent front suspension with period competition springs/dampers and geometry preparation
Rear suspension: Independent rear arrangement developed from Renault/Alpine practice with stage-specific tuning
Wheelbase and packaging: Very compact footprint, aiding narrow roads but increasing pitch/yaw sensitivity at limit
Brakes: Competition disc-brake packages and friction materials matched to event and homologated extensions
Weight distinction: A110 lightweight architecture a competitive advantage; quote event-specific weight only from a documented works chassis
Tyres: Studded snow tyres and varied tarmac/gravel compounds to suit mixed 1973 special stages
Service constraints: Fibreglass panels and Renault mechanicals simplified some repairs; rear-engine access and limited packaging posed other trade-offs
Regulatory era: Before the WRC individual drivers' title began in 1979; 1973 crown exclusively manufacturers' championship
Successor boundary: Later A310 and future Alpine brand cars should not be counted as the identical 1973 A110 chassis

🏆 Competitive Highlights

1970–72 establishment: A110s accumulated major European rally successes before the WRC was launched; these were not WRC round victories.
1971 Monte Carlo Rally: Ove Andersson won in an Alpine A110 before the World Rally Championship existed.
1973 Monte Carlo Rally: Jean-Claude Andruet headed an Alpine A110 one-two-three, opening the inaugural WRC season.
1973 Portugal Rally: Jean-Luc Thérier added a victory to Alpine-Renault's manufacturers' campaign.
1973 Rally Morocco: Bernard Darniche delivered a further Alpine win in the season.
1973 Acropolis Rally: Thérier won in Greece, demonstrating pace beyond smooth French tarmac.
1973 Rallye Sanremo: Thérier and Jacques Jaubert won in an A110 1800 Group 4; Jean-Pierre Nicolas placed third in another A110 1800. This is not evidence of an unchanged 1,565 cc works car.
1973 Tour de Corse: Jean-Pierre Nicolas took Alpine's sixth WRC round victory of the season.
1973 inaugural manufacturers' title: Alpine-Renault won the first WRC manufacturers' championship; there was no WRC world drivers' title in 1973.
Technical-historical caution: The 1973 six-win tally is for the A110 team/family, while 1600 and 1800 works engine sizes differ by entry and event.

Driving Characteristics

The A110's short, light body and rear-biased engine weight provided strong traction on climbs and narrow mountain hairpins, but changes in grip could rapidly alter rear-axle load transfer. Drivers needed to anticipate entry rotation and apply throttle without exhausting rear-tyre grip.

The 1600-class naturally aspirated engine rewarded momentum, reliable gear engagement and low weight rather than enormous power. The larger-capacity 1800 works versions added torque and changed the drive out of slower bends; they should not be represented by a fixed 1600S road engine graph.

Alpine's 1973 winning breadth—from icy Monte Carlo to rough Acropolis stages—shows the importance of surface-specific tyres, dampers and strong team preparation. It is not evidence that every surviving road A110 handles identically to a championship works car.

Development & legacy

The Alpine A110 turned the inaugural World Rally Championship into a manufacturers' showcase and set a standard for compact, low-mass rally engineering. Its archival integrity depends on distinguishing road 1600 homologation, later 1605 cc forms and the larger-engine A110 1800 that appeared at specific world-round victories.

Research sources & verification

← Previous Car —

Back to Cars Index

BMW 2002 (ti, tii, turbo) Next Car →