Alpine A108

Builder	Alpine-Renault
Class	Sports Car
Main type	Berlinetta
Other versions	coupe and convertible
Production	from 1958 to 1964
Engine	845 cc ohv water cooled I4 37 hp (28 kW) 904 cc ohv water cooled I4 53 hp (40 kW) 998 cc ohv water cooled I4
Transmission	3-speed manual 4-speed manual 5-speed manual
Layout	RR layout
Produced	236 (version made in France only)
Length	from 3,850 to 3,980 mm
Length	from 1,460 to 1,480 mm
Height	from 1,130 to 1,220 mm
Wheelbase	from 2,100 to 2,160 mm
Mass	from 530 to 600 kg g
Assembly	Dieppe (F)
Style	Giovanni Michelotti Phillipe Charles

The Alpine A108 is a sports car produced from 1959 to 1965 by the French car manufacturer Alpine.

History 

The first two prototypes of the A108 were unveiled in January 1957 in the form of a sedan and a convertible. And it was in this last body configuration that the A108 was initially launched on the market in 1958 at the Paris Motor Show. It was the first of a number of different body variants for the A108. The second version was the A108 Berlinetta, also presented in Paris in 1959 as a direct heir to the A106.

The A108 was the transition model from the already brilliant A106, which it replaced, to the glorious A110. The tubular frame was initially taken from the first, later replaced by a central beam structure, while the general lines of the car body were anticipated from the second, especially by observing the Berlinetta version, low and tapered, with a sloping front end equipped with faired headlights, the rear wheel arches with a flattened design, the shape of the side glass surfaces almost identical and the rear part with a wraparound rear window. However, the rear also shows the main stylistic differences compared to the more famous A110, but also compared to the A106which preceded it. These differences are the conspicuous double "hump" camber on the tail which incorporates the slits for cooling the engine, but also the large full-width grille, used to vent the hot air coming from the engine compartment. Another difference are the rear fins, not excessively showy, but clearly distinguishable. Aside from the pavilion, these same characteristics are also found in the cabriolet version presented the year before and whose body was designed by Giovanni Michelotti starting from the shapes of the A106 Cabriolet. However, there are also obvious differences in some points. This is the case of the rear camber without "humps", or of the rear wheel arch, which in the Berlinetta has a conspicuous recess behind the wheel.

There are some perplexities regarding the naming of the car: in fact, if the A106 was so called because it mounted 4CV -derived engines mainly signed 1063, the A108 which mounted Dauphine -derived engines (and closely related to those of the 4CV) signed 1090 should have been called A109. No one knows the reason for this inconsistency, and after all not even the patron Rédélé himself has ever provided an explanation on the matter. The basic structure of the first A108 was of the tubular type, light and resistant to stress. A body made of fiberglass panels is fixed to this structure. The suspension solutions provided for a front axle with wishbones and a rear axle with oscillating axle shafts, while the braking system is a drum brake on the four wheels.

The engine, saying that it derives from that of the Dauphine: in fact, it is the 845 cm cylinder directly derived from that of the Dauphine Gordini and which in the A108 is only slightly less powerful (38 HP against 40). The change it was a 4-speed manual, but some specimens will also be fitted with 3 or 5 speeds. And in some specimens, the engine also changed: some specimens in fact mounted a 904 cm3 and 54 HP unit, or a 998 cm 3 70 HP unit. These values, combined with the reduced weight, allowed for remarkable performance: the A108 stretch ranged from 145 to 185 km/h depending on the versions and engines.

• PERFORMANCE: 845 cu cm
  Engine capacity: 51.68 cu in, 845 cu cm;
  Fuel consumption: 35.3 m imp gal, 29.4 m US gal, 8 1 x 100 km;
  Max speed: 93.2 mph, 150 km h
  max power (SAE): 50 hp at 5000 rpm
  max torque (SAE): 41 1b ft,5.7 kgm at 1800 rpm
  acceleration standing 1/4 mile 18 sec
  max number of engine rpm: 6500
  specific power:59.2 hp
  max speed in 1st gear: 27.3 mph, 44 km/h; max speed in 2nd gear: 44.1 mph, 71 km/h; max speed in 3rd gear: 66.5 mph, 107 km/h max speed in 4th gear: 93.2 mph, 150 km/h
• PERFORMANCE: 904 cu cm
  Engine capacity: 55.29 cu in, 904 cu cm;
  Fuel consumption: 33.2 m imp gal, 27.8 m US gal, 8.5 1 x 100 km;
  Max speed: 96.3 mph, 155 km h
  max power (SAE): 55 hp at 5300 rpm
  max torque (SAE):43 1b ft, 6 kgm at 5300 rpm
  max number of engine rpm: 6500
  specific power: 60.8 hp l
  power-weight ratio: 24.5 lb/hP'
  11.1 kg/hp; useful load: 706 1b, 320 kg
  acceleration: standing mile 19 sec
  speed in top at 1000 rpm: 15.5 mph, 25 km/h.
  max speed in 1st gear: 27.3 mph, 44 km h; max speed in 2nd gear: 44.1 mph, 71 km/h; max speed in 3rd gear: 66.5 mph, 107 km/h; max speed in 4th gear: 96.3 mph, 155 km n

Changes

The first year of production of the A108 saw first the launch of the convertible and then that of the Berlinetta. In 1959 the range was further expanded with the arrival of the A108 2+2, characterized by a totally redesigned car body, the work of the Chappe et Gessalin coachbuilder, more angular, with a higher roof, longer wheelbase and a narrow space for two people small body behind the two front seats. This version, if frontally betrayed the kinship with the A108 Berlinetta, for the rest of the car was strongly influenced in style by the Renault Florida and the Renault Caravelle, especially in the tail, very similar, and in the rear part of the side, furrowed by a groove that recalled the one present in the two Renault convertibles. In 1960 the convertible was slightly redesigned: the most evident update concerned the headlamp housings, now integrated into the fenders. For the occasion, the car was renamed A108 Cabrio Sport, while the so-called A108 Coupé Sport entered the price list, which was nothing more than a convertible equipped with a fixed hard-top. But the updates were not limited to this: the whole range was produced from 1960 onwards, giving up the tubular frame in Favor of a new central beam frame in steel.

In France, the Alpine A108 was produced until 1964, but since the A108 also used the mechanics of the Dauphine, Alpine decided to have it also produced in foreign countries where the Dauphine itself was already produced, i.e., in Spain (at Renault-FASA), in Bulgaria (at the Bulgaralpine), in Mexico and finally also in Brazil. In these countries, Rédélé managed to sell his projects relating to the car and therefore the A108 could also be appreciated by several markets. The Brazilian version was called Willys Interlagos and collected several victories in many Brazilian car races of the time. It was also the most successful A108 from a commercial point of view, since 1,500 units were produced since 1962, the year it was marketed, compared to only 236 units of the French version. The Interlagos was discontinued in 1966, when the French A108 had already been off the list for some years and its heir, the A110, was already beginning to establish itself as the new car to beat.

Willys Interlagos 

The A108 was also produced in Brazil, thanks to an agreement with Willys-Overland. Renamed as Willys Interlagos, the model was built in three versions: Berlinetta, coupé, and convertible. The car also had a successful racing career. From 1962 to 1966, a total of 822 Interlagos were made in São Bernardo do Campo, São Paulo.

The history of Interlagos has its roots in the late 1950s, when the Brazilian subsidiary of Willys-Overland made an agreement with the house of Losanga for the local production of the Dauphine. In 1961 the house from Dieppe joined the agreement between the two manufacturers and Willys-Overland acquired the manufacturing license for the A108, which however was marketed in the South American country as Willys Interlagos, from the name of the ' Brazilian circuit of the same name. The production of Interlagos was divided into two fundamental phases: during the first phase, which lasted just a year, the main technical difference between the Interlagos and the A108 was in the fact that the Brazilian model was produced exclusively using the self-supporting chassis of the Dauphine, while the European versions knew a transition from the tubular frame to the central beam one. However, the latter solution was adopted by the Interlagos produced during the second phase, from 1962 onwards. The production of the Interlagos lasted another four years, until 1966. In total, about 300 Interlagos specimens were produced with monocoque chassis and over 860 specimens with central beam chassis. In 2014, the lines of the Interlagos were reinterpreted to give life to the AW380 Berlinetta concept, still with the Willys brand, although the latter has not been active for decades now. The car body of this concept was created by a collaboration between the Maggiora body shop, the Viotti body shop, Fast Design and the designer Emanuele Bombol. The car was equipped with a 3.8-litre twin-turbo 6 -cylinder capable of delivering a maximum power of 610 HP. The AW 380 Berlinetta it also came to production in small series. 110 specimens were produced at a price of 380,000 euros each. The production was entrusted to the Maggiora body shop.