Hachette
Hachette 1:24 1971 Renault Alpine A110 1600s: French Nat'l Police
This model comes mounted on a base in a blister pack
The Alpine A110 is a sports car produced by French automobile manufacturer Alpine from 1961 to 1977. The car was styled as a "Berlinette", which in the post-WWII era refers to a small enclosed two-door Berline, better-known as a coupé. The Alpine A110 succeeded the earlier A108. The car was powered by a succession of Renault engines. A modern iteration of the A110 was introduced in 2017 developed under Renault-Nissan partnership.
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 (71 kW) SAE at 6,500 rpm.
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 (93 kW) DIN at 6,000 rpm. This allowed the production 1600S to attain a top speed of 210 km/h (130 mph). The long-wheelbase Alpine A108 2+2 Coupé was replaced with the new, restyled 2+2 Coupé based on the A110 mechanicals called the A110 GT4.
The car achieved international fame during the 1970–1972 seasons competing in the newly created International Championship for Manufacturers, winning several events around Europe, earning a reputation as one of the strongest rally cars of its time. Notable performances included a victory in the 1971 Monte Carlo Rally with Swedish driver Ove Andersson.
With the buy-out of Alpine by Renault complete, the International Championship was replaced by the World Rally Championship for 1973, at which time Renault elected to compete with the A110. With a team featuring Bernard Darniche, Jean-Pierre Nicolas and Jean-Luc Thérier as permanent drivers and "guest stars" like Jean-Claude Andruet (who won the 1973 Monte Carlo Rally) the A110 won most of the races where the works team was entered, making Alpine the first World Rally Champion. Later competition-spec A110s received engines of up to 1.8 litres.