1962, Paris Motor Show. In a corner of the Renault stand, a small blue berlinetta attracts all eyes. Not very high, not very wide, but damn, it's impressive! Visitors stop, turn around, and in their eyes we read the same question: "But what is this thing?" What they don't yet know is that they are looking at the future queen of rallies, the Alpine A110 . And me, just thinking about this car makes me shiver.

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But before it became this legend of French motorsport, the A110 is first and foremost the story of a man who had the balls to say no to conventions. Jean Rédélé , 24 years old, youngest Renault dealer in France in 1946. The guy graduated from HEC, he could have a great career in finance, but no. What interests him is making the engines scream on mountain roads.

And hold on tight, because the story behind the name "Alpine" is magnificent. Rédélé explained: "It was while crisscrossing the Alps in my Renault 4 CV that I had the most fun." There, that's it. No marketing, no market research, just a guy who loves driving around bends and who wants to share that with the whole world. I think it's beautiful.

The beginnings of the blue revolution

So let's get back to this famous A110. In 1962, when it arrived, the automotive world had never seen anything like it . A fiberglass body - revolutionary for the time - that weighs nothing: 620 kilos! To give you an idea, that's the weight of a modern Smart, but with the style of an Italian GT.

And the engine? A little 956cc R8 that develops 55 horsepower. You're going to say to me "55 horsepower, that's nothing!" But wait, do the math: 55 horsepower for 620 kilos, that gives a crazy power-to-weight ratio. This little berlinetta accelerates like a rocket .

I have to admit something that has always made me laugh: the first Alpine of 1955, the A106, it wasn't even blue! Rédélé had made three examples: one blue, one white, one red. The emblematic blue of Alpine, it arrived by chance . In 1963, a customer ordered his berlinetta in "Panama Blue". Jacques Cheinisse, the future sporting director, found the color so classy that he chose the same one for his car. And that's how a legend was born!

The Wizard of Mechanics

But behind every great car, there's a great man. And for the Alpine A110, that man is Amédée Gordini . Nicknamed "The Sorcerer," this Italian genius who became a French citizen had a gift: transforming any production Renault engine into a racing bomb.

Gordini was the perfect anti-engineer. Where others calculated, he listened. He put his ear to an engine and knew exactly what to do to make it gain 20 horsepower. With Gordini at the helm, the A110 went from 55 to 180 horsepower over the course of its evolutions. From the R8 engine to the 1800cc block of the Group 4 versions, each evolution was a small revolution.

The sporting epic: when France dominated the world

And this is where it gets really crazy. 1971, Monte Carlo Rally . Björn Waldegård, driving his Porsche 911, is leading the race. He's used to it; he wins everything with his German car. But in his rearview mirrors, what does he see? A little blue berlinetta that's right behind him on every bend.

Jean-Claude Andruet, at the wheel of his A110, would eventually take the lead and give Alpine its first victory at Monte Carlo . Imagine the scene: a little French car beating the Porsches, the Lancias, the entire European elite! Just thinking about it gives me goosebumps.

But that was only the beginning. In 1973, Alpine achieved the impossible: winning the first-ever World Rally Championship . And with whom? With their "Three Musketeers": Jean-Claude Andruet, Bernard Darniche, Jean-Pierre Nicolas, and Jean-Luc Thérier.

The Alpine A110 was more than just a French sports car—it represented an entire philosophy of carmaking. Its lightness, liveliness, and perfect balance made it a formidable weapon on all terrains. Whether on the snow of Monte Carlo, the winding back roads of Corsica, or the fast tracks of Germany, the blue berlinetta crushed the competition .

Jean-Luc Thérier, nicknamed "the Acrobat," was particularly spectacular. For him, oversteer wasn't a driving error, it was his signature! He made his berlinetta dance like no one else , always at the limit, always in control. Spectators came as much to see Alpine win as to admire the spectacle Thérier put on behind the wheel.

The international phenomenon

The success of the A110 extends far beyond France. It seduces the entire world . In Spain, FASA produced 1,904 units between 1967 and 1978. In Mexico, it was called the Dinalpin. In Brazil, Willys renamed it the Interlagos. And even in Bulgaria, the Bulgaralpine was produced!

Can you imagine? A small car born in the workshop of a Renault dealership in Dieppe that ended up being assembled in the four corners of the world. That's Rédélé's genius : to have created a universal car, which spoke the same language of driving pleasure everywhere on the planet.

The Berlinette was more than just a popular car - it was a symbol of French freedom and excellence that resonated around the world. When it took to an international event, it proudly wore the French tricolor .

And you know what? This A110 reminds me why I love miniature cars. Because holding a little blue 1/43 scale berlinetta in your hands is a bit like experiencing that whole glorious era all at once.

That's why I opened my shop BernardMiniatures.fr. I have more than 1500 miniatures in stock, mostly 1/43 scale, with a nice selection of French cars from the 50s to the 90s. Well, I'm not a big site, so I often only have one or two pieces of each model, but that's also what makes it charming. I have Alpines of course, but also Simcas, Citroëns, Peugeots, rally cars, sports cars... a bit of everything.

Delivery is free from 75€ in France, and I make sure to wrap everything well with bubble wrap because these little wonders break easily.

Go take a look at bernardminiatures.fr if you're interested - and you'll see, I have some miniature A110s that are definitely worth a look.

Now, let's talk a little more about the technical evolution of this little revolutionary...

Technical evolution: from 51 to 180 horsepower

What fascinates me most about the A110 is its constant evolution over 15 years. It has never stopped progressing . In 1963, it started with 51 horsepower. In 1977, the latest Group 4 versions developed 180 horsepower! More than triple the power while maintaining the same spirit, the same lightness, the same agility.

Each new Renault engine was an opportunity for Alpine to do even better. The R8 Gordini engine, then the R16 TS block, and finally the famous 1800 cm³ of the competition versions. Marc Mignotet and his team had the art of sublimating each engine .

And the best part of all this? This technical progress was taking place in the shadow of the racetracks. While the racing A110s were sweeping the races, the civilian versions were benefiting from all these innovations . Every customer who left with their berlinetta benefited from the know-how acquired in racing.

The color that makes the legend

You know, Alpine blue isn't just a color, it's an identity. In the color codes of international motorsport, each country had its own: red for Italy, silver for Germany, green for England. And blue for France .

When an A110 arrived on a European rally in its metallic blue livery, everyone knew where it came from. It wore the colors of French excellence , and it wore them proudly! This color has become so iconic that even today, when we say "Alpine blue," everyone knows exactly what we're talking about.

I must confess an anecdote that has always made me smile: in July 1977, the 6892nd and last A110 left the Dieppe factory. And guess what color it was? Green! Metallic green! It had been ordered by Jean-Pierre Limondin, a factory employee, who later admitted: "If someone had told me that my berlinetta would be the last, perhaps I would have changed my Normandy green for an Alpine blue!"

End of an era, end of a legend. But not for long...

The Renaissance: When the Legend Returns

2017. Forty years after the last classic A110, Alpine is resurrecting the berlinetta . Same factory in Dieppe, renamed "Manufacture Alpine Jean Rédélé" in homage to the creator. Same philosophy: lightness, agility, driving pleasure. And of course, same blue color!

The new A110, with its 252 horsepower 4-cylinder turbo engine, shares all the hallmarks of its predecessor. It weighs 1,100 kilos , barely heavier than a Golf, but with a weight distribution and balance that would make any supercar green with envy.

When I saw the first images of this rebirth, I must admit that I had tears in my eyes. Seeing that the berlinetta spirit was still alive , that this philosophy of driving pleasure could still exist in our modern world of SUVs and electric cars, it did me a world of good.

The Eternal Legacy

Ultimately, what makes the Alpine A110 so magical? It's that it never cheated . No big engine to compensate for a failed chassis, no electronic gadgets to mask design flaws. Just excellence in simplicity.

Jean Rédélé and his team understood one fundamental thing: for a car to be fast on the road, it must first be light and balanced. Everything else is a bonus . This philosophy has survived the decades, and it still guides the engineers working on modern Alpines today.

You know, every time I see an A110 - whether old or new - I think back to that great time when a small French team made the world's elite tremble . When our blue berlinettes sped like arrows over the mountain roads, humiliating cars three times more powerful.

The Alpine A110 is more than just a car; it's a certain idea of automotive France . A France that isn't afraid to take risks, that dares to innovate, that prioritizes intelligence over brute force. A France that inspires enthusiasts around the world to dream.

And just writing these lines makes me want to pull out my collection of A110 miniatures to admire them once again. Because each one tells the incredible story of a little blue berlinetta that conquered the world.

The Alpine A110, the blue berlinetta of France. An eternal legend.