Charged atmosphere

Alpine electrifies Dieppe with 70th anniversary celebrations – and major future plans

- Elliott Hughes

THE ALPINE A110 S dances over the train linkages as I enter LeShuttle, its burbling exhaust note flamboyantly ricocheting off the carriage’s steel walls. Once parked, the 1.8-litre turbocharged engine settles to a gruff idle before I silence its quartet of cylinders with a jab of the big red button in the centre console. Then the radiator fan whirrs into action, enthusiastically massaging air over the hot engine block, mounted just behind my fixed-back bucket seat. The exhaust ticks gently as the metal cools, relieved after funnelling 200°C combustion gases for the past 115 miles to England’s south coast and the Channel Tunnel.

It’s an incredibly good car, the A110. It feels effervescent, lightweight, brimming with character. And today I’m driving it to its birthplace in Dieppe, France, for Alpine's 70th anniversary celebrations. It will join more than 1700 other Alpines - including hundreds of fellow A110s - alongside around 150,000 enthusiasts attending the three-day extravaganza from across Europe.

Dieppe is incredibly proud to be Alpine's hometown; the marque’s presence is inescapable. I spot classic A110 rally lookalikes mounted above garages and bars, while Alpine posters and memorabilia decorate almost every shop, restaurant and boulangerie. Naturally, the 70th anniversary celebrations are front-page news in the local paper, too.