Alpine's last model before its more than two decade-long hiatus always had a weird standing in the market. Built only 818 times between 1991 and 1995, the A610 was overshadowed by its main rival from Stuttgart in many disciplines. Not as potent, agile and refined as the Porsche 964, it had a hard time from the beginning. More Gran Turismo than "real" sportscar, it was also a bit too tame for the typical clientele, who were converted into fans with the lightweight, agile, petite and gloriously naughty A110.
One reason for the slow sales was the high base price of circa 396,000 Francs –more affordable than the cheapest Porsche 911 of its time, but a tad more expensive than a comparable Porsche 968. The PRV V6 was pushed to 250 hp thanks to a turbocharger. The 3.0-liter six-cylinder, normally known for its unconventional firing order and lack of temperament, gave the plastic-bodied coupé a top speed of 265 km/h and a 0 to 100 time of 5.7 seconds. Respectable numbers in the early nineties, wrapped in genuinely attractive bodywork with pop-up headlights and streamlined curves.
Special editions of an already rare car
Overall it was quite an attractive and capable product, but the unfortunate market positioning, the unglamorous engine choice and a lack of a serious racing program decided its fate as a niche product. Renault's sporty sub-brand tried to increase interest with some special editions: the "Olympique 92" for the Albertville Winter Olympics, the "Magny-Cours" celebrating Nigel Mansell's French Grand Prix victory, and the "Le Mans". In 1993, the Renault group took a page out of Porsche's marketing playbook and ventured into bespoke customization. Two showcase cars, named "Haute Couture", were created: one in Violine (color code 884) with a matching purple interior, and one in Lemon Green. The experiment, however, went no further and neither the A610 nor the Alpine brand in its first iteration would survive beyond 1995.
The Violine example, chassis number 0085763, is now being auctioned by Aguttes at their Tour Auto Sale on the 4th of May, estimated at 60,000 to 100,000 Euro. It led a rather eventful early life for a prototype: it debuted publicly at the second Tour Auto in 1993, appeared at the Trocadéro for the start of the Tour de France, and was briefly used by a Renault manager before being sold through the dealership network. Since then it passed through only two caring private hands, the first owner keeping it from 1993 all the way to 2020.
It was recently repainted in its original hue and fitted with a bespoke stainless-steel exhaust that provides an emotional soundtrack, which adds to the attractiveness of this rarity. With just over 75,000 kilometers on the clock, its original purple interior patinated but intact, and its service book stamped by Renault's own Technical and Commercial Centre, it is one of the most special production Alpines out there. Its deep violet shade draws inevitable comparisons to the Lamborghini Diablo SE30's Viola Metallic and the Porsche 964 Jubilee and makes it a testament to the wild aesthetic preferences of the booming nineties.
