The first production Alpine, the Alpine A106, was actually commissioned by Jean Redele's father-in-law Charles Escoffier and designed by Jean Gessalin then built by the Chappe brothers and sold by Renault dealers. Société des Automobiles Alpine SAS was registered in 1955. The name 'A106' actually comes from the Renault 1060, 1060, 1061, 1062 and 1063, 1064, and 1065 4-cylinder engines used in the Renault 4CV. The A106 used Renault 4CV mechanicals built into a lightweight aerodynamic coupe body made in fibreglass. A cabriolet version of the A106 was designed by Giovanni Michelotti after Gessalin and Chappe attempted to make their own open top A106. Alpine designed a closed Berlinette body from this Michelotti cabriolet which was known as the 'Tour de France' body, but became the A108 because it used Renault 1080 series engines from the Dauphine.
aa Alpine A106 1956 Mille Miles badge
Alpine A106 1956 Mille Miles - badge on nose
ac Alpine A106 1958 Cabriolet head
Alpine A106 1958 Cabriolet, with 747cc rear-mounted Renault 4-cylinder engine. The cabriolet was designed by Giovanni Michelotti
ac Alpine A106 1958 Coupe head
Alpine A106 1958 Coupe, One of the earliest fibreglass cars mass produced, 650 were sold in coupe or cabriolet form
ac Alpine A106 1958 Works head
Alpine A106 1958 Works. The Works edition had a restyled body, which included more aerodynamic inset headlamps.
ac Alpine A108 TDF Berlinette head
Alpine A108 TDF Berlinette. The A108 wasn't that changed from the A106, but was mechanically upgraded to the new Renault 1080 series of engines and hence was called 'A108'
Alpine A106 1956 Mille Miles front
Alpine A106 1956 Mille Miles. Production commenced in 1955 of the Alpine A106, and following a class win in the 1956 Mille Miglia race, a 'Mille Miles" option was available with quadruple rear shock absorbers and a rare 5-speed gearbox.
Alpine A106 1956 Mille Miles rear
Alpine A106 1956 Mille Miles. Production commenced in 1955 of the Alpine A106, and following a class win in the 1956 Mille Miglia race, a 'Mille Miles" option was available with quadruple rear shock absorbers and a rare 5-speed gearbox.
Alpine A106 1958 Cabriolet front
Alpine A106 1958 Cabriolet, with 747cc rear-mounted Renault 4-cylinder engine. The cabriolet was designed by Giovanni Michelotti
Alpine A106 1958 Coupe frontb
Alpine A106 1958 Coupe, with 747cc Renault engine. Whilst Jean Redele was trying to have his own sporting Renault 4CV designed, his father-in-law Charles Escoffier commissioned designer Jean Gessalin and coachbuilders the Chappe brothers to build 25 cars which were then marketed as the Alpine A106.
Alpine A106 1958 Works front
Alpine A106 1958 Works. Still powered by the Renault 747cc engine, the Works edition managed 47bhp in a restyled body
Alpine A106 1959 front
Alpine A106 1959. The A106 was used in competition from the start of production.
Alpine A108 TDF Berlinette front
Alpine A108 TDF Berlinette. The Berlinette was designed inhouse and was essentially a coupe version of the A106 Cabriolet
Interlagos A108 1962 Berlinette
Interlagos A108 1962 Berlinette. 822 Interlagos were produced in Santo Amaro, São Paulo.
Interlagos A108 1962 Coupe Sport
Interlagos A108 1962 Coupe Sport, with 1289cc 72bhp engine, produced in Brazil 1962-66. The Coupe Sport was a Cabriolet with a hardtop welded on.
Interlagos A108 1965 Cabriolet head
Interlagos A108 1965 Cabriolet. Alpine made an agreement with Willys-Overland in Sao Paolo to produce the Alpine A108 under the Willys-Interlagos name and from 1962 to 1965 822 were produced.