1979 Alpine A310

This wedge is One of the most under-rated sportscars of its time

Fraser Martin
05 April 2010

Today we plumb the depths of the Eurozone with a French car owned by a Brit who works for a German company!

Julian Millward-Hopkins, Press Manager for Mercedes-Benz Middle East, bought this cracking little red Alpine A310 in the UK nearly two years ago in a moment of nostalgic weakness. He had owned a black one for nine months in another life when still a mere lad.

The previous Alpine model, the A110, was Renault-based and designed to give the contemporary Porsches a run for their money.

In 1971 and 1973, Alpines took a 1-2-3 in the Monte Carlo Rally and went on to secure the ’73 World Rally Championship outright, against Porsche, Lancia and Ford.

The Dieppe-based firm enjoyed full control of Renault’s motorsports budget until the fuel crisis of the early seventies pushed Alpine, and many other specialist marques, into the red.

The French Government’s blanket ban on all motorsports in 1974 contributed to Alpine’s demise as an independent, and Renault bought the Dieppe concern later in the year, giving the backing which was needed to plan and implement the A110’s replacement, the A310.

Built on a spaceframe chassis, with originally a four-cylinder, 1.6-litre Renault 17 engine, and later, the 3.0-litre Renault V6 engine (shared by Volvo, Peugeot and, whisper this, Delorean) slung out the back on a subframe, driving forward through a four or five speed gearbox to the rear wheels, the Alpines were a little tail-happy.

Weight distribution, biased heavily to the rear, meant that a smooth driving style could be rewarded by rapid cross country progress, but an aggressive approach to throttle control could easily see the little French cars pointing in the opposite direction!

Engines were continuously breathed on by both the Alpine factory and the Gordini concern, and in the case of this example, output from the Renault V6 of 149bhp resulted in a top speed of 220kph. The lightness of the overall package contributes greatly to this figure, and with a fibreglass body and lightweight components fitted throughout, even a fully trimmed model weighs in at just 980kg.

One of only 1381 units built in 1979, Julian’s car was bought from a classified advertisement in the UK, where it had been registered since 1987 to two previous owners.

The prior history of its life in France is unknown, but is being diligently researched to get the complete picture. It was imported and registered in Dubai in August 2008, and since then it has spent much of its time at all-round specialists MAX Garage in Al Quoz being sorted out.

The optional air conditioning needed work after being out of use, and the window seals and wipers needed replacement. The engine has been overhauled and a few bits of interior trim have been tackled, but the car remains in the original red paint with which it left the Dieppe factory when new.

‘I had been talking to an old pal about cars we liked or owned, and suddenly remembered the Alpine I had once. It was a watershed moment and I immediately started looking for another one. This one turned up in a storage facility in Saffron Walden, in Essex and I had another friend go and take a look at it. It was shipped in to Dubai four or five weeks later!’ says the enthusiastic owner.

‘I’ve hardly had a chance to drive it since it got here, and there was a little bit more work to do than I had expected, particularly on the cooling system, but the Alpine is a lovely little car,’ continued Millward-Hopkins.

‘Whilst it’s a bit on the tight side getting in and out, you really become part of it when it’s moving.’

The only drawback the owner has seen since finally getting the car mobile and reliable again, apart from the inevitable drain on the pocket, has been re-learning the use of a manual gearbox because the last time he used one was in the UK in a right hand drive car more than 13 years ago!

As one of the few specialist cars manufactured in France since the Second World War, these Alpines are becoming rare. This particular example is probably the only one in the GCC with another red one known of in Jordan. Therefore, it’s good to have it here in Dubai and in the ownership of someone who clearly cherishes it.

Let us know what you think of Julian's little red Alpine below

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Osama El Banna says

Re: 1979 Alpine A310
There is at least 10 examples of the Alpine in Beirut , Lebanon. Reply

06 June 2010

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