Jean Rédélé

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Jean Rédélé (born May 17, 1922 in Dieppe ; † August 10, 2007 in Paris ) was a French racing driver , designer and car maker . He was the founder of the French sports car company Alpine .

origin

Jean Rédélé was the son of Emile Rédélé, Renault dealer from Dieppe. He originally intended to go his own way professionally and, after graduating from the State University for Higher Careers in Industry and Commerce in 1946, was aiming for a civil service career. However, his father convinced him to continue the Renault dealership that had been destroyed in the war. At the age of 24, Jean Rédélé took over his father's workshop as the youngest Renault representative in France.

Motorsport

First steps

Jean Rédélé has been interested in motorsport since his youth and began to use the opportunities that he had through his own workshop. Jean Rédélé drove the first race as part of a bet against a local Peugeot dealer and won his Renault 4CV against his Peugeot 203 . Jean Rédélé drove the first official race in 1951 in a Renault 4 CV and won. In 1952 he finished third in the Tour de France for automobiles and made his debut at the Le Mans 24-hour race . Class wins and placements in races such as the Mille Miglia followed .

The designer

1950s

Rédélé was convinced of the concept of the 4CV and began to implement his idea of ​​building his own vehicle; a vehicle based on the 4CV with Renault technology, which would be even better suited for racing because of an improved body and a tuned engine. His father-in-law Jean Escoffier, who owned a workshop in Paris, supports him. The first prototypes that have been successfully used in races are built in Paris.

A prototype was shown at the New York Auto Show in 1954. In 1955, Jean Rédélé presented his sports car at Renault's main plant in Billancourt: three series-production Alpine A106s in the colors red, white and blue based on the French national flag. The design of the body of the A106 came from Giovanni Michelotti, part of the technology from the Renault series, the engine was located in the rear of the vehicle. In the same year Rédélé founded his company Alpine . The brand name Alpine, which his cars received, was based on the victory at the Criterium des Alpes in 1954 (Alpine Cup).

In 1956, series production of the A106 began as a street version. The bodies were made by Chappe et Gessalin . By 1960, 251 vehicles had been assembled by hand, 40 more under license in Belgium. The transition to the successor model was fluid and began with a modified engine and changes to the rear of the vehicle. The Alpine A108 replaced the previous model. Jean Rédélé now takes over the production of the bodies of the A108 himself. The car was offered as a Coupe 2 + 2 and as a convertible. In 1960 the body of the vehicles was significantly changed, the new shape shaped the appearance of the Alpine for 17 years. The rear remained unchanged for the time being. In 1960, Rédélé presented his new model, a two-door sports version of the A108, at the Paris Motor Show: the Alpine A108 Berlinette, an uncompromising sports car that quickly established itself in French motorsport.

1960s

In 1961, Rédélé signed a contract with the manufacturer Willys-Overland , who from 1962 assembled the Alpine A108 Berlinette under license in Brazil (the trade name of these vehicles was Willys Interlagos) and made further contacts in Spain. From 1963 the Alpine A108 Berlinette, later the Alpine A110, was manufactured there.

As early as 1962, Jean Rédélé presented the successor to the Alpine A 108 Berlinette, the Alpine A 110 Berlinette and a new sports coupe 2 + 2, the Alpine GT4, at the Paris Motor Show. The Alpine GT4 was a 4.05 meter long sports coupé with four seats. With 112 built it is a rarity today. The better-known Alpine, the new Alpine A 110 Berlinette, was externally very similar to the Alpine A 108 Berlinette, but got a new rear end and the engine from the Renault R8 . It was not until the 1966 Paris Motor Show that the Alpine A110 Berlinette was presented with the typical auxiliary headlights.

In 1963 Rédélé designed his first circuit vehicle, the Alpine M63 , which was equipped with a Gordini type 55 engine. The Alpine M63 made its racing debut in the 1000 km race at the Nürburgring in 1963 . Three more Alpine M63s were made for the 1963 Le Mans 24-hour race . In 1964, three Alpine M63 competed in the Sebring 12-hour race . Two of the vehicles were sold after the race and stayed in the US.

In 1964, Jean Rédélé announced his entry into Formula 2 and Formula 3 . The first race of the Alpine M64 took place at the Nürburgring. In 1965 another racing prototype, the Alpine M65 , was presented. In 1966 a revised Alpine M66, also called Alpine A210 , was built. The car reached a top speed of 250 km / h; by changing the engine it could be increased to 270 km / h. In 1967, at the 24-hour race in Le Mans, the blue racing cars were labeled with Alpine-Renault for the first time. Other racing vehicles followed, such as the Alpine A211 and the Alpine A220 .

From 1965, Jean Rédélé was able to sell his series vehicles as Alpine-Renault through the Renault dealer network, so that he reached even more customers. In the same year, the Renault R8 with Gordini engine appeared on the French market, which was then also used in the Alpine A 110 Berlinette. After a test, the German magazine Auto, Motor und Sport from 1967 praised the Gordini engine. He has sensational driving performance and an excellent running culture. Auto, Motor und Sport also tested an Alpine A110 back in 1966, which was new territory for the tester at the time. He described the trip with the following words: “No doubt about it, we were sitting in a masked racing car. [...] The rev counter really flies to 7000 rpm, and even in fourth gear the urge to move forward seems to continue unabated. [...] The performance of the Alpine make our current sports cars almost like two-seater dummies. [...] The Alpine builders wanted to create an uncompromising driving machine that would achieve optimum driving performance and driving characteristics. This goal has been achieved. [...] The Alpine has to be counted among the best rear-engined cars currently being built. "

Jean Rédélé is constantly expanding his contacts and from 1968 to 1973 began to sell the A110 in Bulgaria under license under the trade name Bulgaralpine. There were also licensed buildings in Mexico that came onto the market as Dinalpin .

In 1968 Renault put all of its motorsport activities in the hands of Jean Rédélé and Alpine. In 1970 the Alpine A110 Berlinette got the new Renault 12 Gordini engine, which accelerated the almost 700 kg lightweight Alpine to 215 km / h. In 1971 Alpine won the Monte Carlo Rally with the Alpine A110 1600 , as well as the French rally championship. The Alpine A 110 Berlinette became an unbeatable motor sports car in international rallies in the early 1970s. With 70 employees, the Alpine team was one of the largest teams in rally motorsport. The Alpine A110 won all of the major rallying titles.

1970s

In 1971 the automobile plant in Dieppe, France, was incorporated into the Renault concern. 1973 Renault took over the majority of the shares in Alpine. Jean Rédélé assumed the leadership position as President Directeur General, which he held until 1978.

Also in 1971 Alpine brought a new sports car onto the market, the Alpine A310, which was produced in parallel to the A110 until 1977. The front of the A310 is an angular, futuristic design from the wind tunnel; The vehicle is initially equipped with four-cylinder engines; 1977 the appearance is changed and the Europe V6 engine is installed.

In 1978 a racing car from Dieppe, the Alpine A442 , won the Le Mans 24-hour race.

When Jean Rédélé left Alpine in 1978, he took over the management of several Renault dealerships in France. In 1991 he still owned car dealerships in Dieppe and Paris. In 1978 he sold the remaining shares in his Alpine company to Renault, which continued the brand until 1995. The rights of the Alpine brand belong to the Renault group to this day. The automobile plant in Dieppe has been preserved to this day and now builds Renault vehicles.

Jean Rédélé died on August 10, 2007 at the age of 85 in Paris.

Afterlife

On August 30, 2008, a memorial, the “Monument Jean Rédélé”, was inaugurated in Dieppe in the avenue de Bréauté to commemorate Jean Rédélé. Many of his vehicles were exhibited at the inauguration ceremony. Another monument in France, an Alpine A110 cast in bronze, commemorates the great victories in motorsport.

In 2012, for the 50th birthday of the Alpine A110, Renault presented a sports car prototype called the Alpine A110-50 in honor of the rally legend. Apart from its blue color, the vehicle has no similarities whatsoever with its namesake Alpine A110, it was presented at the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Monaco. The vehicle is very similar to the Renault DeZir, a study from 2010. However, the Alpine A110-50 was not the first Renault study to bear the Alpine name.

statistics

Le Mans results

year team vehicle Teammate placement Failure reason
1952 FranceFrance Renault Renault 4CV FranceFrance Guy Lapchin Rank 17
1953 FranceFrance RNU Renault Renault 4CV FranceFrance Louis Pons failure Engine failure

Sebring results

year team vehicle Teammate placement Failure reason
1955 FranceFrance Directed by Renault Co. Renault 1063 FranceFrance Louis Pons failure accident

Individual results in the sports car world championship

season team race car 1 2 3 4th 5 6th 7th
1953 Renault Renault 4CV United StatesUnited States SEB ItalyItaly MIM FranceFrance LEM BelgiumBelgium SPA GermanyGermany ONLY United KingdomUnited Kingdom RTT MexicoMexico CAP
151 DNF
1954 Renault 4CV ArgentinaArgentina BUA United StatesUnited States SEB ItalyItaly MIM FranceFrance LEM United KingdomUnited Kingdom RTT MexicoMexico CAP
66
1955 Renault Renault 4CV
Alpine A106
ArgentinaArgentina BUA United StatesUnited States SEB ItalyItaly MIM FranceFrance LEM United KingdomUnited Kingdom RTT ItalyItaly TAR
DNF 108
1956 Renault Dauphine ArgentinaArgentina BUA United StatesUnited States SEB ItalyItaly MIM GermanyGermany ONLY SwedenSweden KRI
DNF
1957 Alpine A106 ArgentinaArgentina BUA United StatesUnited States SEB ItalyItaly MIM GermanyGermany ONLY FranceFrance LEM SwedenSweden KRI VenezuelaVenezuela CAR
DNF

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Biographical data of Jean Rédélé in: Who's who in France. = Qui est qui en France. Dictionnaire biographique des principales personnalités françaises et des étrangers notables résidant en France. 1977-1988. 13e édition. Éditions Jacques Lafitte, Paris 1977, ISBN 2-85784-013-6 , p. 1394 .