• Lotus 110

The Alpine A110, also known as Berlinette, is a sports car produced by the French manufacturer Alpine from 1961 to 1978.

The Alpine A110 was introduced in 1961 as an evolution of the A108, and was equipped with various Renault engines. Like other Alpine sold to the public, the A110 used many Renault parts. However, while the A108 was designed on the mechanics of Dauphine, the A110 used parts Renault 8. Unlike the A108, which had first been sold as a cabriolet and later as a coupé, the A110 was first offered as "berlinetta" and then as convertible. The main difference between the A110 and the A108 Coupé was the restyling of the rear depending on the major engines, which gave the car a more aggressive look. Like the A108, the A110 had a tubular steel chassis with bodywork fiberglass. This configuration was inspired by the Lotus Elan, where Colin Chapman a major source of inspiration for designers Alpine in the time. The A110 originally engine was available with 1.1 L R8 Major or R8 Gordini (no relation to the car of the same name sold in Brazil). The Gordini engine produced 95hp at 6500 rpm SAE. Using iron block engines with R8 Gordini, the A110 achieved several victories in rallies in France in late 1960, and subsequently received the engine with aluminum block Renault 16 TS. With two double Weber carburetors 45 body, the TS engine delivered 125hp DIN at 6000 rpm. That allowed the production 1600S to reach a top speed of 210km/h.

The A110 achieved much fame in the beginning of 1970 as rally car. He gained international fame during the 1970-1972 seasons when it participated in the newly created International Manufacturers Championship, winning several events in Europe and being considered one of the best rally cars of its time. Among the notable performances victory in the 1971 Monte Carlo Rally with Swedish driver Ove Andersson is included.

With the purchase of Alpine complete by Renault, the International Championship was replaced by the World Rally Championship in the 1973 season, in which Renault elected to compete with the A110, one of the first rally vehicles competing in this championship. The A110 made its debut at Rallye Monte Carlo 1973 with a victory at the hands of Frenchman Jean-Claude Andruet, which made him the first vehicle to win a brand new test World Rally Championship. That same year, the team of Bernard Darniche, Jean-Pierre Nicolas, Jean-Luc Thérier and other drivers (including Jean-Claude Andruet) the A110 won most races in which he participated equipment (earned five more wins ), giving the Alpine the first World Constructors’ title.

In 1974, Lancia Stratos, the first car designed specifically for rally racing, was ready and approved. At the same time, the A110 had reached the end of your project. Attempts to use electronic injection had no effect on potency. In some cars one was adapted DOHC 16-valve cylinder head, however, the result had reliability problems. Modifications to the chassis, such as the use of the suspension of A310, approved as A110 1600SC, either they became effective. On the international stage the Stratos proved superior, making the A110 and many other cars quedasen obsolete.

Besides being built in the Alpine factory in Dieppe (France), different versions of the A110 were produced by other automakers around the world. The Alpine A110 was produced in Mexico under the name Dinalpin between 1965 and 1974 Diesel Nacional (DINA), which also produced cars under Renault license. Thanks to the partnership between Renault Willys Overland and between 1962 and 1966 a version of the Alpine A108 and the A110 was produced in Brazil and Willys Interlagos, Brazilian driver Emerson Fittipaldi drove one in several races The A110 was also produced in Bulgaria as Bulgaralpine, between 1967 and 1969, by a cooperative between SPC Metalhim (company Bulgarian defense) and. ETO Bulet (exporting Bulgarian), whose collaboration also resulted in a car called Bulgarrenault, based on the Renault 8. In Spain, the Alpine A110 was produced by FASA Valladolid factory between 1967 and 1978. Non-exhaustive fabricó the A110 version 1100 (desde 1967 to 1970), con motor of 1108cc, the A110 version 1300 (desde 1971 to 1976), con motor of 1289cc, y A110 version 1400 (desde 1977 to 1978), con motor of 1397cc.

The A110 received several engines. This is a list of the engines used in production cars:

Maximum speed: 219km/h (136mph)

Unique features: due to the motor mounted on the rear, no front grille, air being pushed under the chassis and released by almost horizontal openings in the rear fender, on and behind the rear wheel.

Transmission: 5-speed manual

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