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The prestigious Car of the Year 2025 title was awarded to two vehicles: the Renault 5 and the Alpine A290. Renault is a long established automobile manufacturer, but what do we know about the Alpine brand? In fact, the two carmakers share a fascinating history, a story that began in the late 1940s in France as Europe was slowly recovering from the Second World War.
But how did Alpine climb to the top of the competitive automotive industry? Get in gear and take a drive through the history of a very distinguished French sports car manufacturer.
In January, the Renault 5, along with the Alpine A290, was crowned Car of the Year 2025 at the Brussels Motor Show. But while most people will be familiar with the Renault brand, Alpine is not as widely known. Yet these two marques are inexorably linked, and share a fascinating history.
The Alpine story begins in Dieppe, France, in 1946, when 24-year-old Jean Rédélé was put in charge of a Renault dealership—the youngest car dealer principal in the country.
One of the few French cars being produced directly after the Second World War was the Renault 4CV. A four-door economy vehicle, the 4CV epitomized the popular automobiles that mobilized the public after five years of conflict.
Rédélé (pictured here with Louis Pons) recognized in the 4CV more than just a utility runaround. He reckoned the small French car had great rallying potential. In 1950, he started rallying in modified 4CVs, taking part in the Dieppe-Rouen competition and winning on his first attempt.
Victory in the Dieppe-Rouen rally convinced Rédélé to venture into motorsport as a profession. The following year he took part in the Monte Carlo rally, but failed to repeat his earlier success.
It was then that Rédélé had an epiphany of sorts. He decided to race in the Alps. The challenge of negotiating twisting alpine hills at speed appealed to the young driver, so he entered one of the toughest competitions: the Mille Miglia.
The Mille Miglia endurance race followed a route that took drivers through steep open countryside on public roads. Rédélé accrued class victories in 1952, 1953, and 1954.
A greater test, however, was the Alpine Rally, also known by its official name Coupe des Alpe. It was in this competition that Rédélé achieved his most famous victories. Inspired by the event and its location, he decided to commission his own sports car brand—Alpine.
Automobiles Alpine was officially established in 1955 in Dieppe. The A106, Alpine's first car, was introduced shortly afterwards. Its designed was based on the Renault 4CV.
Several Alpine models followed, including the A108 coupé sport in 1960 and the classic A108 Berlinette in 1961.
But one model would come to embody Automobile Alpine's entire motorcar range: the iconic A110. Launched in 1962, the A110, like previous road-going Alpines, used many Renault parts, including engines. But the car's sleek, sporty, and stylish design was of Alpine's alone.
Light, agile, and powerful, the A100 excelled in rally competitions and numerous other motorsport disciplines.
Throughout the 1960s, Alpine succeeded in the efficiency classes of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, though outright victory was still several years away.
In 1964, Alpine turned out Renault-powered Formula 3 cars, with the carmakers taking victory in the inaugural French F3 Championship.
In 1971, the six-headlamp A310 was launched. It was seen as Alpine's answer to the Porsche 911. Critics, however, bemoaned its wedgy, boxlike, tail-heavy design. Sales were predominantly in France, with 781 cars sold in its home market in 1979, the model's best year.
Alpine's greatest successes were still in motorsport. It monopolized the podium of the famous Monte Carlo Rally in 1971, but the best was yet to come.
Helped by investment from Renault, the A110 won the inaugural World Rally Championship trophy in 1973.
That same year, 1973, Automobiles Alpine was acquired by Renault. The French automobile manufacturer had its eye on Le Mans.
In 1978, the Renault Alpine Sport team race drivers gathered in northwestern France with their Alpine Renault A442 V6 cars for the 46th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
A thrilling duel between Renault Alpine and Porsche ended with victory for the the Renault Alpine Sport team. It was their first and only victory at the circuit de la Sarthe, with French drivers Jean-Pierre Jaussaud and Didier Pironi and their Renault Alpine A442 B Bubble roof taking the checkered flag.
Renault Alpine carried on competing successfully in endurance races throughout the 1980s, but after the production of Alpine-badged models ceased in 1995, Renault chose to withdraw the Alpine brand altogether.
The Alpine brand languished for over 20 years before it made a sensational comeback in 2017. Renault decided to roll out a new version of the A110, reviving the mothballed nameplate in a bid to add racing flair to the French automaker's lineup of utilitarian compacts.
On March 7, 2017, the new Renault SA Alpine A110 sports coupé was unveiled on the first day of the 87th Geneva International Motor Show in Switzerland. It was a sensation!
Tapping into the pioneering mindset of Alpine's founder, Jean Rédélé, the reincarnated A110 was loved by automotive critics as well as fans of the original slender, lightweight sportscar. Sadly, Rédélé was not able to celebrate its return, having died in 2007.
The A110 range today features among other models the A110 R Turini, A110 S, and the powerhouse A110 GT, the successor to the legendary Berlinette.
In 2024, the new Alpine A290 was unveiled. This 100% electric city sports car is based on the Renault 5 Electric and is also assembled in Dieppe.
The following year, 2025, the Alpine A290 GT was launched. A high-performance variant of the Renault 5 E-Tech, it's this version that shared the Car of the Year award.
Meanwhile, Alpine is back on track. Literally. In 2021, Alpine's motorsport program gained momentum with the brand's arrival in the Formula 1 World Championship under the name Alpine F1 Team.
Meanwhile, Alpine cars compete in their own unique Alpine Elf Europa Cup, a one-make sports car racing series founded in 2018, with the Alpine A110 trophy up for grabs.
Sources: (Alpine) (Car of the Year) (Alpine Elf Cup Series) (Top Gear) (Hagerty)
How did Alpine reach the top of the competitive automotive industry?
A drive through the history of the French sports car manufacturer
LIFESTYLE Automobiles
The prestigious Car of the Year 2025 title was awarded to two vehicles: the Renault 5 and the Alpine A290. Renault is a long established automobile manufacturer, but what do we know about the Alpine brand? In fact, the two carmakers share a fascinating history, a story that began in the late 1940s in France as Europe was slowly recovering from the Second World War.
But how did Alpine climb to the top of the competitive automotive industry? Get in gear and take a drive through the history of a very distinguished French sports car manufacturer.