BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
Sometimes you just have to shake your head in wonder at the way things are. How can two of the most beautiful and delightful cars from the classic and modern eras be so rare?
Beauty is subjective, sure, but the owner of both of these Alpine 110s, Donald Webster, says the routine reaction from those seeing either car for the first time — but especially the more dramatic older car — is wonderment and a stream of superlative compliments.
Anyone who recognizes the original Renault Alpine 110 will surely recall images of its 1971 Monte Carlo win and the multiple podiums achieved in the first World Rally Championship in 1973.
Its beauty is more than skin deep. The 110’s unusual backbone chassis and light fibreglass body made it — especially the later model with the 1565cc Renault 16TS engine — a very potent package. In common with many French cars its sophisticated suspension, which includes four shock absorbers at the rear, gave the car a very compliant and supple ride, which surely helped its drivers stay focused, fast, and accurate. The car effectively dominated the rally scene until the arrival of the rally-specific Lancia Stratos, which lifted the game to a new level.
Its beauty is more than skin deep. The 110’s unusual backbone chassis and light fibreglass body made it a very potent package
The Alpine brand was then applied to a couple of other bigger and heavier GT cars, the best known being 1984’s Alpine GTA, but they didn’t find much favour and Renault decided to stick to its knitting. That is until, after almost a 20-year
