1971 Alpine A110

This 1971 Alpine A110 1600S was sold new by French racing driver and auctioneer Hervé Poulain and first registered in France on January 28, 1972, before being imported to the US in 1985. Chassis 17861 was subsequently purchased from slot car historian Phillipe de Lespinay in 1987 by the seller’s father, who campaigned it in numerous California-area vintage racing events including the Monterey Historics and various Ferrari and Alfa Romeo club competitions. The car was also featured in a variety of publications through the 1980s and 90s before being displayed at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in 1999, reportedly a first for the A110 platform. The seller took ownership of the car after their father’s 2010 passing and later commissioned a mechanical refurbishment that was performed over the last year and a half. Finished in blue, the car wears white #110 meatballs along with French tricolore stripes and is equipped with driving and fog lights. Power is supplied by a 1.6-liter Type 844-32 inline-four that breathes through twin Weber 45 DCOE carburetors and Devil long-tube exhaust headers. Shifting is through a five-speed manual transaxle, and the car rides on 13” Gotti multi-piece wheels with orange-finished centers. On the inside, bucket seats trimmed in black vinyl and corduroy are accompanied by Sabelt harnesses, a roll bar, and a MOMO steering wheel. This A110 1600S is now offered with prior registration documents, copies of magazine articles in which it appeared, racing and track-day photos, and a clean California title in the seller’s name. The A110 berlinette entered production in 1963 with Giovanni Michelotti–styled fiberglass bodywork underpinned by a steel backbone chassis and Renault drivetrain components. Introduced in late 1969, the 1600S variant gained power from an aluminum-block Cléon-Alu inline-four shared with the Renault R16 that was later replaced with a larger-displacement unit sourced from the R17 TS. After FIA Group 4 homologation of the A110 1600 in 1970, the model established itself as a force in European rallies with victories in the Monte Carlo Rally and Coupes de Alpes among its achievements. This example is finished in blue with white #110 meatballs on the hood and doors as well as French tricolore stripes over the front license plate mount, hood, roof, and rear decklid. Features include faired-in headlights, inset driving lights, and fog lights set between four-piece front bumpers with oval rubber inserts as well as a Vitaloni driver-side mirror, hood-retention pins, straked rear intake scoops, and split rear bumpers. Yellow tape is in place over the driving and fog light lenses. Various road chips and other imperfections can be viewed among closeups in the photo gallery below. The 13″ Gotti multi-piece wheels feature orange-painted spokes and bright rims and are secured by three lugs. Dunlop Racing tires measuring 4.50-13 up front and 5.50-13 at the rear were mounted as part of the refurbishment performed over the last year and a half. Stopping is handled by four-wheel disc brakes, and further work during the recent project included rebuilds of the master cylinder and front calipers. Inside the cockpit, fixed-back bucket seats are trimmed in black diamond-stitched vinyl with pleated corduroy inserts, while color-matched vinyl covers the center tunnel, door panels, sills, and rear parcel shelf. Red Sabelt four-point harnesses accompany the seats, and a roll bar has been added out back. Stickers from various vintage racing events decorate the roll bar, while a plaque affixed to the dash notes preparation by John “The Greek.” The three-spoke MOMO Prototipo steering wheel sits ahead of Veglia Borletti instrumentation including a 240-km/h speedometer, an 8k-rpm tachometer, and ancillary gauges. The five-digit odometer shows 83k kilometers (~51k miles), approximately 300 of which have been added under current ownership. The fuel gauge does not work consistently. The 1.6-liter inline-four features an aluminum block, an aluminum cross-flow cylinder head, and a finned oil sump. The intake manifolds were ported and polished during a 1995 engine overhaul, and the twin Weber 45 DCOE carburetors are said to have been rebuilt as part of the mechanical refurbishment performed over the last year and a half. Additional recent work involved performing fluid changes, cleaning the fuel tank, and replacing the fuel lines and filter. Power is sent to the rear wheels via a five-speed manual transaxle. The independent suspension incorporates a double-wishbone front arrangement with telescopic shock absorbers and an anti-roll bar along with a swing-axle rear setup with coil springs and quad Koni shocks. A Devil four-into-one long-tube exhaust header was added during the seller’s father’s ownership, and a replacement stinger-style exhaust was added as part of the recent project. The chassis tag identifies the car as a 1600 VC, while a tag affixed to the engine block identifies the engine as a Type 844-32 1600 VC. Three binders and a CD-ROM containing photos from the car’s racing career with the seller’s father and its Pebble Beach appearance are included in the sale. Also included are ownership documents, workshop manuals, articles featuring the car, and correspondence dating back to the 1990s.