1966 Alpine A210 Pilots: J-L. Thérier, F. B. Tramont Team: Société des Automobiles Alpine Race: 10th overall (1st in P 1.3 class) at Le Mans in 1968 Spark - S4373 (resin)
Published 08/03/18
In 1962 the Société des Automobiles Alpine wanted a sports car program for the 24 Heures du Mans. The first car to come from this program was the M63. The all new car debuted at La Sarthe in 1963 but failed to finish. For 1964 the car evolved into the M64, and it won its class and the index of performance. The following year Alpine further developed the car into the M65, but all cars DNF. As a result of the 1965 failure Alpine completely overhauled the design, and created the A210. In the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans, the A210 debuted with a 1-2-3 finish in the energy efficiency index. The engine was a feisty Renault inline-4 with 1296 cm³, prepared by Gordini. With DOHC it could produce up to 140 hp.
At La Sarthe, in 1968, Alpine and their satellite teams had a fleet of cars. They filled the grid with 11 (!) cars, including the A110, A210 and A220. In fact, just the factory team brought four A210s to the race. And to maximize their chances, the team used two different engines on their cars. Two cars (#52 and #53) had the big 1.3 engine while two (#55 and #56) sported a smaller 1.0 engine. Car #52 (chassis #1721) was one of the cars with the big 1.3 engine. Piloted by Jean-Luc Thérier and Bernard Tramont it finished 19th overall. Not a great result, true, but as a bonus they won the Index of Energy.
I wanted a proper Alpine for a loooong time. Yeah, I have the very nice A442 but that’s not a “pure” Alpine. So when I found a nice deal on this A210 I grabbed it. Once again Spark produced a fantastic model. The detail level is top notch and I love the “French-blue” livery.
Now I just need an A110. And an A220…
In other words, it never ends 😣.