The first episode of Alpine’s new video series celebrating its 70-year history features Jean-Charles Rédélé, son of the company’s founder (Image: Alpine)
Almost 70 years ago in July 1955, Renault dealer and rally driver Jean Rédélé created Alpine. Originally a standalone brand, the mission was simple: to create a French sports car brand based on Renault powertrains.
He chose the name due to his personal rallying success in the French Alps, where he raced one of the few French-made post-WWII cars, the Renault 4CV. His first Alpine creation, the A106, used the basic mechanicals of the same Renault model.
When he presented his first three A106s to Renault’s top management just a few days after launching Alpine, he positioned them in front of the company’s historic Île Seguin factory finished in blue, white, and red, skillfully setting the scene for his ambitions.
When Jean Rédélé launched the Alpine brand in 1955, he presented the first three examples of the A106 to Renault’s top brass finished in the colours of ‘le Tricolore’ (Image: Alpine)
His infectious confidence quickly garnered the support of Renault HQ, with the brand eventually purchasing Alpine in 1973. Although Alpine-badged cars ceased in 1995, the brand was relaunched in 2017 with the A110 and still continues in dealerships today with the electric A290 sold in Europe, and on the track with its Formula 1 team.
To celebrate the brand’s history, a new video series titled ‘Alpine, 70 years’ will be releseas over the coming months, with the first episode out now.
The series explores the brand’s epic tale, full of achievements and challenges, along with shedding light on the brands ambition to grow and evolve over the next few years in several themed episodes.
The Alpine brand still continues today, returning in 2017 after a 22-year hiatus with the A110, which you can see here recreating that original launch photo (Image: Alpine)
The first episode, ‘The Alpine Legend’, looks at the origins of the brand and the challenges it faces in today’s EV age. It is based on the testimonies of Philippe Krief, Alpine’s CEO, and Jean-Charles Rédélé, the son of the brand’s founder, who is an amateur racing driver at the wheel of a modern Alpine A110 and a collector of iconic Alpine cars.
You can watch the first episode below, with further episodes to be released over the coming months as the brand’s 70th anniversary approaches.
