Few sports cars combine potent performance, nimble handling, beauty, and rarity quite like the Alpine A110. Featuring Renault mechanicals and shapely fiberglass bodywork, the petite, rear-engine A110 is one of the greatest European rally cars of its decade. Revered for its handling and performance, the A110 established a formidable reputation in the late 1960s and early 1970s with various wins in the International Championship for Manufacturers—forerunner to the World Rally Championship—but truly cemented its name in rally folklore at the first ever WRC event, the 1973 Monte Carlo Rally. Jean-Claude Andruet led an incredible 1-2-3 finish for the Renault-backed factory team as the A110 overpowered rivals from Fiat, Ford, and Lancia. Alpine-Renault proceeded almost unchallenged to claim that year’s manufacturer’s championship.

This well-loved example has traveled across the Atlantic multiple times to be enjoyed by appreciative and attentive owners on two continents. Its chassis number confirms the car was manufactured in 1964, though little is known of its early history. Correspondence on file suggests that it was exported from southern France to North America in the late 1970s with a stripped interior and other competition features offered from the factory in period. At some point the car’s 1,108-cubic-centimeter four-cylinder engine was replaced with a later 1,255-cubic-centimeter Gordini inline-four from an A110 1300 G, which would later be tuned to 1300 S specification, displacing 1,296 cubic centimeters.

Service invoices dating from 1978 indicate a Toronto-based owner ordered parts directly from Renault France and had the car serviced in Toronto, including having the cylinders honed in June 1981. In September 1993, the Alpine passed to its next owner, who drove it from Toronto across Canada and the United States to his home in Vancouver, British Columbia, later enjoying it on trips down the California coast.

In the early 2000s the Alpine passed to an owner in Columbia, South Carolina, who had the four-speed manual gearbox replaced with a five-speed and the engine tuned and valves adjusted. In 2005, this owner would sell the car to its next caretaker based in the United Kingdom, who would register it not for road use, secure its Historic Technical Passport, and drive it competitively in UK hill climbs and club events throughout the mid-to-late 2000s. Under his care, the Alpine would see extensive servicing and upkeep, including installing a roll cage and replacing the Plexiglass rear window, exhaust manifold, silencer, clutch, and tires in 2006; having the engine removed to repair a cracked connecting rod; installing a new clutch kit in 2009 and a new fuel pump and electrical work in 2010. In 2012 The Autoshop Accident Repair Centre in Stroud, Gloucestershire, would strip the body of paint, repair damaged fiberglass bodywork throughout, and repaint the car in blue. Photos for the work are on file. In 2013, the same shop would repair cracks and holes in the dash and repaint it in a black crackle finish.

Following this owner’s thorough enjoyment and dutiful care, the Alpine would pass to a couple of other UK-based owners before crossing the Atlantic once again to Sonoma, California. He would retain the car for two years, after which the consignor would acquire it in October 2022.

Today, the car presents well, featuring a beautifully finished replacement interior in tan leather with attractive diamond-quilted pattern and racing harnesses. Period features such as three-lug factory-style alloy wheels and fog lamps enhance the presentation. Now offered with a history file with invoices, correspondence, registrations, export documents, and more, this well-loved Alpine-Renault is ready for its next adventure.