Alpine A310

Alpine A310 at a glance

Jean Rédélé's bigger Alpine

Alpine founder Jean Rédélé wanted a larger and more comfortable car to sit above the A110 Berlinette, and the A310 became the last Alpine he conceived. Trevor Fiore at Carrozzeria Fissore drew a prototype in 1967, and the production shape was developed by Michel Beligond and Yves Legal, with some accounts also crediting Marcello Gandini. The prototype was presented at Geneva in spring 1971, series production started in Dieppe that summer, and dealers had cars for the 1972 model year.

The A310 kept the Alpine recipe of a steel backbone frame clothed in a fibreglass shell, with the engine behind the rear axle driving forward to the gearbox. Each car took about 130 hours to build. Some parts came from the French industry shelf: the steering rack from the Peugeot 504 and the indicators from the Simca 1301. The four-cylinder cars are easy to recognise by their six headlights and a NACA duct on the left front wing. The new car measured 4,180 mm long, 1,640 mm wide and only 1,150 mm high on a 2,270 mm wheelbase.

It was not cheap. In 1972 a German buyer paid DM 31,975, about the price of a Porsche 911 S and well above the DM 23,480 asked for a 911 T. Building a new factory in Dieppe pushed Alpine into deficit, and in 1973 Renault became the majority shareholder.

Four-cylinder A310: 1600 VE, VF and SX

The first 1600 VE (1971-1973) used a carburettor version of the 1,605 cc Renault four-cylinder, described as the Renault 16 TS or 17 TS/Gordini unit depending on the source. Its output is quoted as 85 kW (115 PS), 91 kW (124 PS) or 94 kW (128 PS) depending on the source and the tune. The 1600 VF of 1973-1976 switched to Bosch D-Jetronic injection from the Renault 17 TS and, according to automobile-sportive.com, produced 92 kW (125 PS) at 6,250 rpm and 148 Nm. With 930 kg to carry it reached 205 km/h and 100 km/h in 8.4 seconds, and only 699 were built; in 1975 it cost FF 71,200. In 1974 the front axle changed from ball joints to rubber-and-steel bushes.

The cheaper A310 SX of 1976, also called the 1600 VG, used the 1,647 cc single-carburettor engine of the Renault 16 TX with 70 kW (95 PS). It was a stopgap, because the V6 was already on sale.

The PRV V6 and the Phase 2 cars

The A310 V6 went on sale in 1976 with the 2,664 cc Peugeot-Renault-Volvo engine also used by Renault, Peugeot, Volvo and later DeLorean. It produced 110 kW (150 PS) at 6,000 rpm and 203 Nm at 3,500 rpm. Robert Opron reworked the nose with four headlights, and a five-speed gearbox replaced the four-speed around 1978-1979. Automobile-sportive.com quotes 226 km/h, 0-100 km/h in 8.2 seconds and 1,000 m from rest in 28.5 seconds, while Wikipedia DE gives 7.8 seconds for the post-1981 cars.

From autumn 1980 the Phase 2 V6 adopted the rear suspension of the Renault 5 Turbo, its four-hole TRX wheels, reshaped arches, bigger plastic bumpers and larger brakes, with swept disc area rising from 1,106 to 1,416 sq cm. The Pack GT of 1983-1985, sold as the A310 S in Germany, added flared arches and spoilers without engine changes; genuine cars carry the chassis code 2700VAA. The Boulogne kit, developed at Alpine's competition centre, bored the V6 to 2,849 cc with Weber carburettors for 142 kW (193 PS) and about 235 km/h. Only 27 were made according to Wikipedia EN.

Rallies, rallycross and the Gendarmerie

The A310 was designated to take over from the A110 in the World Rally Championship in 1973, with mixed results; Jean-Luc Thérier finished third on the 1974 Tour de Corse. The V6 did better nationally. In 1977 Guy Fréquelin won the French rally championship with ten victories, a French record for one season, and Herbert Grünsteidl took the European rallycross title. A V6 entered by Bernard Decure ran at Le Mans in 1977 but retired after 137 laps. The French Gendarmerie's rapid-response units chose the A310 to replace the A110 in 1974 and used it until 1987.

Sales peaked in France in 1979 with 781 cars. By 1984 fewer than 500 were sold there, against about 1,600 Porsche 911s, and the A310 gave way to the Alpine V6 GT and V6 Turbo, known as the GTA, in 1985. The history of Alpine follows the line from the A106 onwards, and rivals of the period included the Porsche 911 and the Lotus Esprit.

Alpine A310 today: what to check when buying

On the A310, corrosion attacks the steel backbone and its attachments, while the fibreglass body itself is rustproof. Owners on automobile-sportive.com warn that the tubes used to jack the car tend to corrode, so inspect the chassis from below. Worn chassis bushes make the handling poor or even dangerous, and the rear geometry is tricky to set up correctly.

On V6 cars, check the clutch hydraulic line, which some owners have seen fail and leave the car stuck in gear, and the cooling hoses; a second fan is a common upgrade. The single-piston brakes feel weak by modern standards, the side windows are slow, and period TRX-size tyres are expensive. L'Argus warns that some cars sold as V6 or Pack GT are not genuine, so check the chassis plate for the VAA code.

Values have climbed steadily. Auction results listed by classic.com include a 1981 A310 at EUR 17,500 in May 2024, a 1984 car at EUR 31,250 in September 2024 and a 1974 four-cylinder 1600 VE at EUR 34,503 in April 2023. A 1977 V6 sold in the USA for about EUR 40,000 (USD 41,500) in January 2025. The Alpine catalogue lists the other models, and our classic cars section has more sports cars from the same decade.