Alpine-Renault was the first team which won the manufacturer’s title in WRC back in 1973 with the winning car, Alpine A110 1800, a Group 4 car.
This car won only one title in the manufacturer’s championship of WRC and the French brand decided to withdraw it at the end of 1978 after six years since its first debut.
The engine had a capacity of 1.796cc, was located longitudinally behind rear axle and was a naturally aspirated engine with 2 Weber 45DCOE carburetors.
Moreover, the engine was a four-cylinder with two valves per cylinder which means that it had eight valves total.
Finally, the compression ratio was 11.5:1 and the output horsepower could reach at 136,80 hp.
But let’s see the history that this car made in WRC by the years.
1973
Jean-Pierre Nicolas, Jean-Luc Therier and Bernand Darniche competed with an Alpine-Renault 110 1800 in WRC and were the drivers of the French squad whereas Jean-Claude Andruet competed only in one event with this car. All of them won at least one time an event apart from Therier who won three events (Rallye de Portugal, Acropolis Rally, Rallye Sanremo). Moreover, Andruet, Nicolas and Darniche won in Monte Carlo, in Corsica and in Morocco respectively. Totally, Alpine-Renault won six from thirteen rounds that year and it is noteworthy that Alpine drivers managed to finish in all podium positions in Monte Carlo and in Corsica. However, the French team did not take part in Kenya and in Finland and its main rival was Fiat which participated in the same number of events as well. To conclude with, all these successful appearances of these drivers including podium finishes led Alpine-Renault to clinch its first title in WRC, a year that this sport category was born, and to finish in the first position overall in manufacturer’s championship with 147 points against Fiat which scored 84 points.
1974
In that season, Alpine-Renault took part as manufacturer team while the Aseptogyl Team was a private which had an A110 car and could score points for Alpine-Renault. More specifically, Jean-Pierre Nicolas, Jean-Luc Therier and Bernand Darniche continued to drive the A110 1800 as the main drivers of the French brand. Bob Neyret, a driver of Aseptogyl Team, finished in sixth position overall at Rally Portugal which was the WRC opener event of that year. At the second WRC round of 1974 in Kenya, Darniche and Therier retired due to engine and suspension issue respectively. At Rally Finland, Rallye San Remo and Rally of the Rideau Lakes in Canada, Alpine-Renault was absent from this event and returned on the sixth round of World Rally Championship with a Renault 17 Gordini meaning that Alpine withdrew the A110 1800 and Renault replaced it with the 17 Gordini. The Alpine A110 continued running to the World Rally Championship of 1974, but it was on privateers’ hands. However, Nicolas competed in Tour de Corse with the A110 1800, which was the WRC finale of that season, and finished in the second place of the podium. Michele Mouton competed as well in Corsica with this car and finished in twelfth position overall. Moreover, the private driver, Guy Chasseuil, finished fifth in USA. Alpine-Renault scored 29 points at manufacturer’s championship and finished in fifth position, three points behind the fourth Toyota.
1975
In 1975, Gerard Larrousse, Rob Collinge and Jean Ragnotti joined Renault-Alpine team and had Jean-Pierre Nicolas and Jean-Luc Therier as his teammates. Renault-Alpine chose to compete in some events with the A110 1800, with the 17 Gordini and the A310. In the opening round of that year’s World Rally Championship in Monte Carlo, Ragnotti and Nicolas did not score any point for their team due to the accident they had with their A110 1800 and were forced to retire from the event. In Sweden, A110 1800 was absent from this event. Therier and Collinge competed in Kenya with the A110 1800, but they retired due to engine and clutch issues. In Greece, the private driver, Miltos Andriopoulos (the Greeks called him “Siroco”) drove an Alpine A110 1800 and finished second overall. Bob Neyret competed in Marocco with this Alpine car and finished in third position overall, but the manufacturer team of Renault Alpine did not take part in Marocco, in Portugal and in Finland with the A110 1800. At Rallye Sanremo, Therrier achieved another third place with the A110 and scored twelve points there, while his teammate, Nicolas, retired due to differential problem. In Corsica, Nicolas was very close to win this event with the A110 1800 as he finished second, 32 seconds behind Bernand Darniche who was behind the wheel of a Lancia Stratos HF. Finally, Renault-Alpine did not participate in the WRC season finale in Great Britain. Overall, the French team finished third on manufacturer’s championship, just one point behind FIAT.
Alpine A110 1800 was an iconic car and, unfortunately, Alpine-Renault decided to compete with it in some events from 1974 to 1975 as it replaced it with the Alpine A310 and Renault 17 Gordini. However, many private drivers continued to run with it from 1976 to 1978. 1978 was the last year where the Alpine A110 1800 did his appearance in World Rally Championship.
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