Alpine is an automotive company that is popular for its production of racing cars as well as its sports car. One of the most common in their collection for racing is the Alpine A110, which first hit the market in 1963.
Just nine years after Alpine was born, the A110 hit the scene and took the racing world by storm. The small two-door coupe did look the part as well as play the part, thanks to it boasting a great engine setup thanks to Renault. Renault did supply most of the engines for Alpine cars, especially the A110 model. With the 1963 model being the first in the lineup, they could be pretty hard to come by if anyone is looking for a classic Alpine sports car to add to their collection. However, some are around, but buyers will want to prepare themselves as they do not come cheap.
Let's take a more detailed look at the 1963 Alpine A110 and the price in today's market.
Notable Details Of The 1963 Alpine A110
The Alpine A110 was the successor to the Alpine A108. Both are quite similar in design and purpose but, the A110 features larger engines, which took it to higher heights on the racetrack.
Alpine took to producing the A110 model as a berlinette style car, which in the post-WWII era is a small enclosed two-door coupé. These cars feature a rear-engine setup, which has the purpose to provide the car with more balance and better handling. The design team at Alpine would purposefully create a rear-engine set up so that a driver could attain the best results when racing, which the car was designed for.
The 1963 A110 models boast either a 1.1-liter R8 Major engine or an R8 Gordini engine. The latter could produce around 95 horsepower. Although this power output might seem limited, it was in fact competitive at the same time.
Although the 1963 model was a success in the racing world, the Alpine A110 really took the world by storm in the 1970s, when the engine really took a step-up. Starting with a 998cc displacement unit in 1963, the car jumped to 155 horsepower by 1970 thanks to the larger engines.
In fact, its engine capacity took to climbing from 1.0 to 1.6-liter over its 15-year production run. Hence, the engine did get bigger and better as the years went on. However, at the time of production, the 1963's engine was more than enough to satisfy a sports car customer as well as anyone that took it to race on the track.
The 1963 Alpine A110's Aesthetic Design
As well as redesigning the engine and enhancing performance, Alpine also took to redesigning the aesthetic design of the A110. The rear bodywork was the most notable change for the A110 models in comparison to the A108. The rear of the A110 took to appearing more aggressive and bold, which was done to accommodate the A110's larger engine.
A similarity to the A108 was the steel backbone chassis and a fiberglass body. These features were purposeful to ensure that the car was as lightweight as possible so that it could perform its best when racing.
Other aesthetic design features included the likes of a front spoiler, wider wings, and a driver-navigator communications system. All of which, was to enhance the aggressiveness of the car so that it could look fierce on the track.
For extra safety as well as comfort, the interior of the 1963 Alpine A110 also features a roll-bar and bucket seats.
The Current Price Of A 1963 Alpine A110
The average price of a 1963 Alpine A110 is around $103,125, so it certainly doesn't come cheap. Seeing as it is the first to ever hit the market, it was always bound to be one of the most expensive from the entire lineup that spanned over 15 years. Even the 2022 Alpine A110 does not cost in excess of $100,000. They are in fact almost half the price.
It is astonishing how well the classic Alpine A110 models have held their value. So, if anyone is looking for the first generation Alpine A110 and has over $100,000 to spare, then looking online or in-person at verified dealers can help be on the way to adding this classic racing sports car to a collection.
In summary, although the 1963 Alpine A110 isn't the most affordable model to own, it would certainly be one of the coolest to add to a collection. It might set someone back a whopping six figures, but it is the first to be made and doesn't shy away from performance or capability when it comes to racing.