Alpine A110 San Remo celebrates 1973 Rally Championship win

As a special-edition road car the latest A110 might not be rallying anywhere, but it still looks the part. Photographed next to each other, the real-deal rally weapon from ’73 and the 2023 wannabe with matching livery make a cool pairing: so French, so blue, so sang-froid. What a shame they resisted adding yellow light lenses and a few Elf stickers!

The new car is called the Alpine A110 San Remo 73 and there will be 200 of them, part of the petrol A110’s swansong before electricity takes over. Each of the numbered series will cost from €89,000 (UK price to be confirmed). 

Why San Remo? That was the fifth of the six WRC rally victories Alpine enjoyed in 1973 to clinch the inaugural (and Alpine’s only) WRC title. So there’s real historical substance to this colour and trim job, as there was with its special-edition predecessor, the A110 Tour de Corse 75 announced last year. There could be more editions on this WRC theme but not that many more: by the mid 1970s the Lancia Stratos had put an end to Alpine’s winning ways. 

You can see from the pictures pretty much all of what makes the San Remo 73 version of one of the enthusiast world’s favourite cars so distinctive. This car is all about show rather than more go – there’s nothing’s new underneath and that’s just fine by us.

The blue is the original Caddy Blue paint. Like the rally car, there’s a black and white graphics package on the bonnet and doors, and the carbon roof gets a flash of red. The pillars are black and the wheels (18-inch) are white, with anthracite callipers courtesy of Brembo. 

The sportiest new thing about the car – complementing its 300PS (234kW), light weight and exceptional agility – could be the Sabelt Racing one-piece bucket seats, ready to be fitted with six-point harnesses if you wish. Don’t get the rally message? The ‘World Champion 73’ embroidered into the seats will remind you.

Sport pedals, ally footrest, black and white trim, the inevitable special-edition plaque and a healthy boost to standard kit –  high-performance brakes, active sports exhaust, telematics and upgraded audio are all included. Oh, and a reversing camera – even wannabe rally drivers have to park. Order books open in France today (17 March).