Automobiles Alpine

Jean Rédélé, originally a Dieppe garage proprietor, began achieving success in motorsport driving Renault 4CVs, winning class victories at the Mille Miglia and the Coupe des Alpes. Drawing on his competition experience and modifications to the 4CV, he created the Alpine brand in 1954, naming it after his Coupe des Alpes successes. In 1955 Rédélé established formal production at Dieppe, producing the A106, a small coupe built on 4CV mechanicals with a glassfibre body over a central tubular backbone chassis — an architecture that would define all Alpines for decades. Italian designer Giovanni Michelotti styled the early cabriolet variants.

Alpine's competition profile grew through the 1960s as the A110 Berlinette Tour de France became the marque's defining car. Starting with a 956cc engine, the A110 evolved progressively to accommodate larger powerplants as Renault's full competition budget was channeled through Alpine from 1968 onward. Success mounted rapidly: outright wins in the Coupe des Alpes and major international rally events from 1968 and beyond. In 1971, Alpines finished first, second, and fourth in the Monte Carlo Rally. The 1973 season brought the high-water mark of Alpine's rally career, with the A110 1800 winning the inaugural FIA World Rally Championship outright, defeating Porsche, Lancia, and Ford.

The oil crisis of 1973 severely damaged Alpine's commercial position and precipitated a Renault takeover of the company. Renault merged Alpine's competition activities with the acquired Gordini tuning firm to form Renault Sport in 1976.

With the rally championship secured, Alpine and Renault set their sights on Le Mans. Development of increasingly competitive sports-racing prototypes culminated in the 1978 24 Hours of Le Mans victory with the Renault Alpine A442B, powered by a turbocharged engine. Alpine had been an early pioneer of rally turbocharged cars, fielding a modified A110 to victory on the Critérium des Cévennes in 1972 with Jean-Luc Thérier.

Alpine also entered open-wheel racing beginning in 1971, initially in Formula Three and within a year in Formula Two. Jean-Pierre Jabouille won the European Formula 2 Championship in 1976 with a Renault-powered Alpine. René Arnoux won a second European F2 championship in 1977. These programs served as a direct route into Formula One, with Alpine-badged cars entering the Formula One World Championship in 1977.

Alpine road car production was centered at its Dieppe factory, which remains the company's manufacturing base. From the A106 through the A108, A110, A310, GTA, and finally the A610, Alpine consistently used lightweight construction — typically glassfibre bodies over a central backbone chassis — combined with rear-mounted Renault engines. Production of the last A610 ended on 7 April 1995 when Renault discontinued the Alpine name.

The Dieppe plant continued as a production site for Renault Sport models including the Renault 5 Turbo, the Clio Williams, the Renault Sport Spider, and RenaultSport Clio derivatives. In 2017, Alpine was revived as a brand with the introduction of the new A110, and in January 2021 Renault merged Renault Sport fully into Alpine to form an Alpine business unit.

Following the brand's dormancy in factory motorsport, Alpine partnered with Signatech in 2013 to re-establish racing activities under the Alpine name in the LMP2 class of the European Le Mans Series. Signatech-Alpine won the team championship in 2013 and returned for subsequent seasons, expanding into the FIA World Endurance Championship. The partnership achieved the 2016 and 2019-2020 LMP2 WEC championships and won three Le Mans 24 Hours races in the LMP2 class.

In September 2020, Groupe Renault announced it would rename its Formula One team as Alpine F1 Team. In March 2021, Alpine launched the Alpine Endurance Team for the WEC's top hypercar class, using a grandfathered Rebellion R13 chassis while developing a full LMDh competitor. Oreca was named as chassis developer for the LMDh program, with engine development handled by Alpine Racing's Viry-Châtillon base.

Alpine's motorsport legacy spans seven decades and multiple categories. Its 1973 World Rally Championship was the first world title in the discipline's history, and its 1978 Le Mans victory with turbocharged technology presaged the direction of prototype racing. The Dieppe factory and the A110 remain defining icons of French motorsport heritage.