CarBrandLogos archive · Alpine · 1955
A Renault 4CV with a plastic body, and the beginning of a French marque.
Discover the storyPhoto: X-Ray91270 · Public domain
The story
Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Alpine A106, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.
01
Jean Redele ran a Renault dealership in Dieppe and spent his weekends competing in 4CVs, tuning them until they won their class in the Mille Miglia and the Coupe des Alpes. Those alpine passes gave him the name for the company he founded in 1955.
1957 Alpine A106 Coach "Mille Miles" · jean-pierre 60;Cropped and levels adjusted by uploader Mr.choppers · CC BY-SA 3.0
02
The A106 was its first product: 4CV floorpan and rear-engined, rear-drive mechanicals, a 747 cc pushrod four later enlarged to 904 cc, three or five speeds, and a light glassfibre coupe body in place of the Renault's steel. Giovanni Michelotti drew it, and low weight did the rest - modest power in a small, light car produced pace out of all proportion to the specification.
1954 Alpine Le Marquis Prototype · TKOIII · CC BY-SA 4.0
03
Production ran from 1955 to 1961 at Dieppe, in small numbers and with a good deal of variation between individual cars, and a cabriolet joined the coupe. The A108 replaced it.
04
Every Alpine since, up to the cars built in the same town today, descends from this arrangement: Renault parts, a plastic body, and the lightest possible result.
At a glance
Produced
1955–1961Engine
747 Designer
Giovanni MichelottiBody
2-door CoupéTechnical specification
Badge at launch
This is the marque emblem that accompanied the A106's era. The full identity timeline is documented in the brand archive.
Explore the logo history →Lineage
Contemporaries from the 1950s
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