Alpine A106 Mille Miles

Alpine A106 Mille Miles

The Alpine A106 is the car that started one of motorsport's most legendary stories. Built by Jean Redele, a Renault dealer from Dieppe who had achieved remarkable racing success with modified Renault 4CVs, the A106 was the first car to carry the Alpine name. Produced from 1955 to 1961, this tiny, lightweight coupe established the principles that would guide Alpine for decades: Renault mechanicals, fiberglass bodywork, rear-engine layout, and performance achieved through minimal weight.

Jean Redele's inspiration came from his racing experiences with the Renault 4CV. He realized that the 4CV's basic mechanical package — its rear-mounted engine, all-independent suspension, and robust gearbox — could form the basis of a proper sports car if combined with a lightweight body. Working with michelotti and later with his own designs, Redele created a sleek fiberglass coupe body that weighed a fraction of the 4CV's steel structure.

The A106 used the Renault 4CV's 747cc inline-four cylinder engine, but in tuned form producing approximately 43 horsepower in the Mille Miles racing variant. While this sounds modest, the car's extraordinary lightness of just 480 kilograms meant performance was genuinely impressive. The A106 could reach 150 km/h, a remarkable speed for a sub-750cc car, and its handling was excellent thanks to the low center of gravity and balanced weight distribution.

The Mille Miles variant was named after the Italian Mille Miglia race and was the most performance-oriented version of the A106. It featured a tuned engine with higher compression, revised camshaft, and modified carburetor setup. The body included additional air intakes for engine cooling and sometimes a plexiglass rear window for weight saving.

The A106 achieved immediate racing success, with class victories at major events including the Mille Miglia, the Tour de France Automobile, and various rallies. These results validated Redele's concept and attracted attention from Renault, which began a commercial relationship with Alpine that would eventually lead to Renault's ownership of the company.

Only 56 A106s were produced, each essentially hand-built at Redele's small workshop in Dieppe. This tiny production number reflects the artisanal nature of Alpine's early operations, with each car built to individual customer specifications. The fiberglass body was laid up by hand, and assembly was a labor-intensive process.

The A106's legacy extends far beyond its modest production numbers. It established Alpine as a constructor in its own right, created the template of Renault-based lightweight sports cars that would produce legends like the A110 and A310, and began a motorsport story that would culminate in Alpine's victory at the 1978 Le Mans 24 Hours.