Alpine 1300

The acquisition of Alpine by Renault had been finalized, and this led to the international championship being displaced by the world rally championship in 1973. As a result, Renault made a decision to take part in the race with their A110. The team included Bernard Darniche, Jean-Pierre Nicolas and Jean-Luc Thérier as regular drivers and «guest stars» such as Jean-Claude Andruet (who won the Monte Carlo Rally in 1973). As a result of these efforts, Alpine became the first ever World Rally Champion with their A110 winning most races where it was entered by the works team. In addition, later competition-spec A110s were fitted with engines of up to 1.8 litres.

The Alpine A110 was created and crafted at the Alpine Dieppe factory, yet it was also manufactured by a range of other car manufacturers globally. For instance, the model was produced in Mexico under the alias «Dinalpin» by Diesel Nacional (DINA) from 1965 to 1974, and Renault’s vehicles were also constructed there. Moreover, SPC Metalhim and ETO Bulet formed a cooperative which resulted in the production of both Bulgaralpine and Bulgarrenault models in Bulgaria from 1967 to 1969.

In 1974, the Lancia Stratos was introduced with a mid-engine configuration that had been specifically designed for rally racing. Meanwhile, it became apparent that the tail-engined A110 had reached its peak in terms of development. The addition of fuel injection did not bring any improvement in performance. 16-valve DOHC heads were fitted to some cars but they were unreliable. Modifications to the chassis such as an A310 double wishbone rear suspension on an A110 1600SC failed to enhance performance either. On the international scene, it soon became clear that the Stratos was a formidable car, rendering other rally vehicles such as the A110 obsolete.