A rare and totally restored Renault Alpine A110 Coupe heads a heart-warming collection of classics going under the hammer at Shannons Melbourne Winter Auction on July 21.
Jean Rédélé’s beautiful little Alpines based on Renault power trains are regarded as some of the greatest rally cars of all time, with the A110 model dominating the international stage in the 1960s and early 1970s, with Australian Rally Champion Bob Watson driving one to victory in the inaugural Don Capasco Rally in Canberra in 1974.
Believed originally to be a ‘lightweight competition cliente’ 1300S model dating from 1972, the Alpine A110 being auctioned by Shannons was one of a pair imported from New Caledonia in 1991.
It was painstakingly restored for the current owner by marque specialist Colin Stark’s Alpine Affaire over a 14-year period, where in the process, it was discovered to have a works lightweight tarmac specification chassis and competition lightweight fibreglass shell.
Sadly, the ravages of time and the harsh New Caledonian conditions put the shell beyond repair, however Stark fabricated a new body using his own ex-works Group 4 A110 as a mould and mounted it onto the original, freshly restored chassis.
The Alpine’s mid-mounted 1296cc Renault engine was also enlarged to 1550cc at the same time, fitted with a special head with bigger valves and a rally camshaft along with twin 45DCOE Webers, giving 155HP at 7000 rpm, mated to a close-ratio five-speed gearbox with a Hewland locking diff.
The car was also converted to right-hand drive at the same time and its original and very rare Gotti rims were painstakingly restored
Appropriately, given its history, the A110 has been set-up for competition work, with a half-cage, Cibie spotlights, an 80-litre competition bladder tank, Monte Carlo brakes and Perspex side and rear screens, with a Terratrip completing the period feel.
Finished in the works French blue/white/red colour scheme, the Alpine is eligible for number of local and International classic rallies, where its power and weight of just 615 kilograms will make it an exciting performer.
Shannons are expecting this exciting, superbly detailed, and highly collectable French sporting classic to sell in the range of $90,000-$120,000.
Also French, quirky and rare in the July 21 auction are a recent show-winning 1960 Citroen ID19 ‘Goddess’ ($15,000-$20,000) and its predecessor, a lovely 1948 Citroen Light 15 ‘Traction Avant’ sedan ($16,000-$24,000) – both offered from the same small private Citroen collection.
Other exciting classics in the July 21 Melbourne auction include:
- a 1957 Ford Skyliner Retractable Convertible (LHD) the first mass-produced car offered with a fully retractable hardtop roof and amongst the most collectible American cars of the 1950s
- a 2007 Superformance Daytona Mk1 Coupe, No 79 of 100 built and believed to be the only one of its type in Australia
- 10 ‘No Reserve’ lots, ranging from a 1982 Porsche 924 ‘Turbo Enhanced’ Coupe to a 1966 Plymouth Sport Fury Coupe, a 1999 Rover Mini Cooper ’40’ 2 Door Saloon and a quirky but popular circa 1954 Vespa Ape ‘Fender Light’ 3 Wheeler.