Alpine A210

The number 45 A210. Robert Bouharde and Guy Verrier finished twelfth with the racing car in the 1966 24-hour race at Le Mans.

The Alpine A210 was a sports car prototype that was used in sports car races from 1966 to 1969.

Development history

After the success with the M63 and M64 types , Alpine developed a new racing sports car in Dieppe for the 1966 season. The car was to be used in national and international sports car races. The A210 had an extremely aerodynamic body, the defining feature of which was the long tail with the two side fins.

The cars had two different transmission variants. A 5-speed Hewland gearbox was used for short sprint races . In the Le Mans 24-hour race - where the A210 made its debut in 1966 - a longer-geared Porsche gearbox was used.

Alpine competed in Le Mans with the A210 from 1966 to 1969 , with the cars always being entered in racing classes below 2-liter displacement. The engines ranged from a 1-liter Gordini engine with a power of just 85 kW (115 hp) to a 1.5-liter unit, which also came from Gordini and produced 131 kW (178 hp) with petrol injection. This enabled the racing car to reach a top speed of 288 km / h on the long straights at Le Mans. This was an enormous top speed for a car with this engine power.

For all its speed, the A210 was also a very stable racing car. Alpine regularly came to Le Mans with more than half a dozen A210s and always won the racing classes in which the vehicles were entered. 1968 won Jean-Claude Andruet and Jean-Pierre Nicolas in the index of performance. A success that Alain Serpaggi and Christian Ethuin were able to repeat in 1969 .

The A210 marks the first high point in racing car construction for circuit racing at Alpine. After the 1969 season, the French manufacturer switched to rallying in its sporting activities . It was not until the mid-1970s that Alpine returned to Le Mans with a new sports car program , this time under the leadership of Renault .

Results at the 24 Hours of Le Mans

year	event	No.	team	Driver 1	Driver 2	Result
1966	Le Mans	62	Société des Automobiles Alpine	Henri Grandsire	Leo Cella	Rank 9
		44	Ecurie Savin Calberson	Jacques Cheinisse	Roger Delageneste	Rank 11
		45	Société des Automobiles Alpine	Guy Verrier	Robert Bouharde	Rank 12
		46	Société des Automobiles Alpine	Mauro Bianchi	Jean Vinatier	Rank 13
		47	Société des Automobiles Alpine	Berndt Jansson	Pauli Toivonen	failure
		55	Société des Automobiles Alpine	André de Cortanze	Jean-Pierre Hanrioud	failure
1967	Le Mans	46	Société des Automobiles Alpine	Henri Grendsire	José Rosinski	Rank 9
		49	Ecurie Savin Calberson	André de Cortanze	Alain LeGuellec	Rank 10
		48	Société des Automobiles Alpine	Jacques Cheinisse	Roger Delageneste	Rank 12
		45	Société des Automobiles Alpine	Mauro Bianchi	Jean Viantier	Rank 13
		47	Société des Automobiles Alpine	Jean-Claude Andruet	Robert Bouharde	failure
		56	Ecurie Savin Calberson	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Patrick Depailler	failure
		58	Société des Automobiles Alpine	Philippe Vidal	Leo Cella	failure
1968	Le Mans	57	Ecurie Sacvin Calberson	Alain Le Guellec	Alain Serpaggi	Rank 9
		52	Société des Automobiles Alpine	Jean-Luc Thérier	Bernard Tramont	Rank 10
		53	Trophy Le Mans	Christian Ethuin	Bob Wollek	Rank 11
		55	Société des Automobiles Alpine	Jean-Claude Andruet	Jean-Pierre Nicolas	Rank 14
		56	Société des Automobiles Alpine	Jean-Louis Marnat	Jean-François Gerbault	failure
1969	Le Mans	50	Société des Automobiles Alpine	Christian Ethuin	Alain Serpaggi	Rank 12
		45	Société des Automobiles Alpine	Jean-Claude Killy	Bob Wollek	failure
		53	Trophy Le Mans Alpine	Jacques Foucteau	Patrice Compain	failure
		55	Ecurie Savin Calberson	Alain LeGuellec	Bernard Tramont	failure

Technical specifications

Parameters	Alpine A210
Engine:	Four-stroke four-cylinder gasoline mid-engine
Cooling:	water
Displacement :	1.005 cc
Bore × stroke:	85 × 66 mm
Compression:	10.5: 1
Valve control:	two overhead camshafts, 2 valves per cylinder
Carburetor:	4 Weber carburettors
Power:	85 kW (115 PS) at 8,000 rpm
Maximum torque:
Power transmission:	5-speed gearbox ZF5DS25
Frame and body:	Light metal on a welded tubular steel frame
Steering:	Rack and pinion steering
Front suspension:	Double wishbone suspension with coil springs over gas pressure dampers
Rear suspension:	Double wishbone suspension with coil springs over gas pressure dampers
Brakes:	ventilated disc brakes front and rear
Track width front / rear:	1344/1344 mm
Wheelbase :	2300 mm
Tire size front / rear:
Length × width × height:	4640 × 1690 × 1030 mm
Empty weight (without driver):	680 kg
Top speed:	up to 290 km / h

literature

• Roy Smith: Alpine Renault The Sports Prototypes Volume 1963-1969 . Veloce Publishing, ISBN 978-1-845841-91-1 .

Web links

Commons : Alpine A210  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Image: Alpine A210

Individual evidence

1. ↑ http://www.motorlegend.com/fiche-technique/alpine-a210-1-3/262.html