Cars of Coolhaven

Now this car is easy to just walk past on a parking lot, without giving it a second glance. Luckily, my eye fell on the headlights. Hang on, this is no old Mazda! It is the nice Alpine GTA!

I remember these cars from back when I was a kid, and we would go on holiday to the south of France for the summer. My brother always got real excited when he spotted one of these… I am not particularly fond of the design, I must admit, but the Alpine name will probably always stay ‘exciting’ to me. Thanks, bro!

Some facts straight from Wikipedia:

The Alpine GTA was the first car launched by Alpine under Renault ownership (though Alpine had been affiliated with Renault for many years, with its earlier models using many Renault parts). It effectively updated the design of its predecessor, the Alpine A310, updating that car’s silhouette with modern design features like body-integrated bumpers and a triangular C pillar with large rear windshield. It used the PRV V6 engine in a rear-engined layout, with extensive use of polyester plastics and fibreglass for the body panels making it considerably lighter and quicker than rivals such as the Porsche 944. It was one of the most aerodynamic cars of its time, the normally-aspirated version achieving a world record 0.28 drag coifficient.

For some nice road tests and contemporary articles, go to the UK Alpine Owners Club and select ‘Road tests’ in the menu!