What the car is and where it came from
The Alpine A310 is a French sports car, launched in 1971 as Jean Rédélé’s final Alpine model. It debuted at the 1971 Geneva Motor Show.
How it works, in terms someone would actually use
The driver sits low, feet angled inward by the front wheelarches. The engine sits behind them, longways, driving the rear wheels through a five-speed manual gearbox.
What it gets right
It gets the backbone chassis right: stiff, simple, and tuned for responsiveness. It gets the single-piece fiberglass shell right: lightweight, integrated, and faithful to the A110’s construction logic.
What it does not
It does not offer front-engine balance or all-wheel drive. It does not isolate the driver from chassis feedback. It does not prioritise cabin space or comfort over mechanical honesty.
What it changed
It shifted Alpine’s identity from pure rally-bred compactness to a more muscular, road-focused proposition—still rear-engined, still fiberglass, but now with a V6 and a restyled presence.
Who it is for, and who it is not
It is for drivers who value rear-engined purity, mechanical directness, and Gallic minimalism. It is not for those who need practicality, refinement, or modern crash structures.
Is it worth your time
Yes—if you want to understand how Alpine’s engineering logic evolved from the A110 to the V6 era, and how a French sports car balanced lightness, layout, and compromise in the 1970s.
