I scoured France until I found one... in the UK

"Alpine comes first in the name, as in Alpine Renault. There's never been a Renault Alpine.”

- JOHN EVANS

So says Roger Hick, with sufficient authority for me to doubt my memory of cars such as the Renault Alpine GTA Turbo and Renault 5 Alpine Turbo. In any case, you don’t question a man, in the presence of his Alpine A110 1300 S, who has owned two Alpine Renault V6 Turbos and whose daily driver is a current-model Alpine A110.

“I bought my A110 1300 in 2000, largely in this condition but there's nothing I haven't changed,” says Roger. “I'd seen pictures of the model and thought: ‘That looks pretty. I'll save up for one.’ So I scoured France for one and found this in Milton Keynes!”

The car had been restored by its then owner but, says Roger, he couldn't get on with it for some reason: “I took it to a club track day once and a chap came up to me and said: ‘You're doing well in that. The last time I saw this, it never faced the same way twice in a lap!”