Few sports cars combine potent performance, nimble handling, beauty, and rarity quite like the Alpine A110. Based on Renault mechanicals and clothed in shapely fiberglass bodywork, the petite, rear-engined A110 is one of the greatest European rally cars of its decade, revered in the late 1960s and early 1970s for its handling and performance.

According to the Renault certificate of production on file, this A110 was completed on 25 February 1974 and finished, naturally, in the appealing shade of Alpine Blue. It was equipped from new with engine number 1173, matching the tag on the engine fitted today. As a highly developed variant of the long-running model, this 1600 VD features numerous differences from other A110s, including unique front and rear lightweight fiberglass bumpers, small fender flares, large Cibie headlamps and driving lights, and the later-style Alpine logos, bodyside, and hood trim.

Further notable equipment includes what the Alpine register notes is an 1,800-cubic-centimeter Works racing engine with dual 45DCOE Weber carburetors and Devil header and exhaust, five-speed manual transmission, four-joint suspension, R17 brake calipers and rotors, a front-mounted radiator, and a modern fuel cell. The car rides on a set of 13-inch Gotti modular four-bolt wheels presently shod with Avon tires.

Research on file from former owner Phillipe de Lespinay indicates that this A110 was originally delivered new to a French Group 1 driver, who rallied it multiple times before consigning it to street use. After purchasing the car in 1986, de Lespinay brought it to the United States. He would go on to use the car in vintage competition, where it proved highly competitive.

In 1995, the Alpine joined the renowned racecar collection of the late Tom Mittler of South Bend, Indiana. As racing logbook entries on file indicate, Mittler enthusiastically raced the Alpine across the Midwest and beyond. Following Mittler’s passing, the car joined a large private collection in Indiana, from whom it was acquired by the consignor in 2020.

According to the Alpine-Renault Registered Owners Association this car was, at the time of the publication of their register, the only 1600 VD known to be in the United States; as Alpines of any description are rare on this side of the Atlantic, it would make for a delightfully unexpected contender in any number of vintage racing events. It is accompanied by a history file and a spare wheel.