1971 Alpine A110

This 1971 Alpine A110 1600S VB was upgraded to Group 4 rally specifications by its first owner, French racing driver Christian Debias, who scored a class win at the 1971 Rallye de Printemps. It was subsequently owned by Michel Bessac from 1971-1978 and again from 1990-2009, during which time he won the Group F championship at the Trophéé Fédéral des Circuits in 1997. A refurbishment was completed in the early 2010s after the vehicle was acquired by a new owner in Switzerland, and it was later campaigned in historic rally events such as the Tour Auto and Rallye Neige et Glace. Finished in red over a black interior, the car is powered by a rear-mounted 1,565cc inline-four and equipped with dual Weber carburetors, a five-speed manual transaxle, a fuel cell, front fog lamps, 13″ Gotti wheels, a roll bar, Sabelt harnesses, and a Smiths rally timer. The engine and gearbox were rebuilt in 2013, and the car was recently imported to the US by the selling dealer. This A110 is now offered on a bill of sale in Oceanside, California with a race record, a magazine featuring the car, technical passports, period photos, and spare parts. The Giovanni Michelotti-designed A110 featured fiberglass bodywork mounted to a steel backbone frame, and this car, chassis #16744, was repainted red during the aforementioned refurbishment. The exterior features an Audemars Piguet #110 livery from the 2012 Tour Auto historic rally and is equipped with black-painted plastic bumperettes, along with a mesh front grille, twin Cibie spot lights, dual side mirrors, and tow hooks. Rock chips ahead of the rear wheels can be seen in the gallery, as well as worn weatherstripping and cracks on the rear decklid. The 13” multipiece Gotti wheels feature red centers with polished lips and are wrapped in Michelin TB15 semi-slick tires sized 175/60 up front and 225/45 out back. Stopping power is provided by four-wheel discs. The cabin houses fixed-back bucket seats trimmed in quilted black leather with corduroy centers and a matching dashboard, door panel inserts, and carpets. Schroth harnesses are attached to a black-finished roll bar, and additional equipment includes a fire extinguisher, a hydraulic handbrake, and a rally timer with a Smiths analog clock and dual stop watches. A leather-wrapped three-spoke steering wheel with an Alpine center cap frames instrumentation including a Stack 10k-rpm tachometer, an Alpine-branded 240-km/h speedometer, and Veglia auxiliary instrumentation for oil pressure, oil temperature, and coolant temperature. A VDO fuel level gauge is found in the center stack along with toggle switches for vehicle functions, and the five-digit odometer shows just over 67k kilometers (~42k miles). Total mileage is unknown. The VB variant of the 1600S featured a tuned version of the Renault R16-derived 1,565cc inline-four and was factory rated at 136 horsepower. The engine was reportedly rebuilt in 2013 and features a blue-painted valve cover along with an Autobleu muffler and dual Weber carburetors with individual intake trumpets. Engine block and cylinder head stamping numbers can be seen in the gallery below. Power is sent to the rear wheels through a five-speed manual transaxle, which is also said to have been rebuilt in 2013. Additional underbody photos are provided in the gallery below. A copy of Mille Milles magazine that features the car is included in the sale, along with race logs, technical passports, and a number of historic photos showing the car in competition. A driving video is presented above, and a drive-by clip can be seen below. Additional drive-by footage is viewable here.