30 Years of Alpine A610
The A610 was the last production model of the original Alpine brand to make its debut in 1991. At that time, the small brand from Dieppe had already belonged to Renault for 18 years. In 1973, the French manufacturer had taken over the majority of shares in Alpine, and five years later the rest as well. At times, the model series were sold as “Renault Alpine”. The A610 saw a return to the Alpine brand name. This 2+2-seater was built along classic lines as a rear-engined sports car with a plastic body. Due to a limited budget during the development period, the appearance was very similar to that of the previous V6 GT and GTA models. These had already been fitted with pop-up headlights in the US version from 1987. Pop-up headlights were now also used for the A610 in modified form. The side window line and the glazed rear area came completely from the GTA.
PRV engine with turbocharging
Behind the rear axle was still the familiar PRV V6 engine, now with three liters of displacement. Thanks to turbocharging, 184 kW/250 hp and 350 Nm of torque were available. A manual five-speed transmission provided the power to the rear wheels. According to the data sheet, the A610 accelerated from a standstill to 62 mph in 5.7 seconds and on to a topspeed of 165 mph. For the first time, ABS was standard equipment. Likewise, the occupants could enjoy the comforts of air conditioning and a radio. The seats were optionally upholstered in high-quality velour fabric or leather. Alpine tried to position the A610 in the field of luxury-class sports coupés. The 1991 model was priced accordingly high. With a base price of 105,000 DM, it was even higher than the new price of a Porsche 968.
Two special edition models
In the very first year of production, Alpine presented the special edition “Albertville” on the occasion of the 1992 Winter Olympics, which were held in this French town. Two of these vehicles, painted completely in white, served as VIP shuttles during the event together with other Renault models. In 1993, another limited special edition model was dedicated to the sporting successes of the Williams Formula 1 team. The blue paintwork of the body and alloy wheels was based on the racing cars, and the name was “Magny-Cours” to match the French F1 circuit. Only 31 units were built. Overall, the A610 didn’t prove to be a sales success for Alpine. Even the entry of a privately prepared car in the 1994 24 Hours of Le Mans, which ended in 13th place, couldn’t be used for marketing purposes. This was despite the fact that the car had even beaten the Kremer team with a Honda NSX.
Only 818 units in four years
In the same year, 1994, two Alpine A610s served as official safety cars at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. With pre-orders remaining low, Renault ceased production of the sports car in early 1995. Whether this was solely due to sales figures or was also related to the start of production of the Renault Sport Spider can’t be definitively determined. This two-seater model was built under contract at Alpine in Dieppe. By this time, only 818 A610s had rolled off the production line, 67 of them with right-hand drive. Only about one tenth of the total production was made in the period from 1993 to 1995. Meanwhile, well-preserved examples of the A610 are priced between € 40,000 and € 60,000, depending on mileage and previous history. By joining the club of classic cars (30 years of age), this value could rise slightly in the near future. Alpine fell into a slumber until 2014, before Renault revived the brand.
Images: Alpine, Renault
