1962-1977 Alpine A110

2009-06-23 by mhoward

French carmaker Société Anonyme des Automobiles Alpine traces its roots to the middle 1950s, when Dieppe mechanic Jean Rédélé achieved modest success in events like the Mille Miglia and Le Mans by modifying the humble 747-cc Renault 4CV for rallying and racing.

Alpine's first car, the Michelotti-styled A106, was an early pioneer of fiberglass, and with its rigid chassis, 5-speed transmission, and rear-mounted 4CV powertrain, it furthered the company's competition prowess. The Dauphine-based A108 appeared in 1960 in both coupe and cabriolet form and served as a stopgap between the A106 and what would ultimately bring Alpine its greatest accolades—the A110.

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1970-1974 DeTomaso Pantera

2009-06-05 by mhoward

Following a brief racing career in the mid-1950s with Maserati and OSCA, the Argentine-born Alejandro DeTomaso retired from the sport and set up shop near Modena, Italy, to manufacture his own cars. He began with what he knew—formula racing cars—but by the late 1960s had given the world the bug-like 4-cylinder Vallelunga and the radical V8 Mangusta coupes—aesthetically interesting road cars but hardly world-beaters.

In the meantime, Ford had been on the prowl for an exotic car company to buy, something perhaps to alleviate the sting of Enzo Ferrari's earlier snub. They landed on the doorstep of DeTomaso, who wanted a way into the lucrative American market, while Ford wanted another supercar now that the GT40 had been retired. And while the radical Mangusta was interesting in concept but not quite right for the American market, the car DeTomaso had in the works was—the Pantera.

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