GRAND TOURISME

SPONSORED BY those years ago. The model has covered 52,000 miles from new and has recently had a bare-metal repaint in Vert Argente.

The radio – a very rare Continental Edison – was sourced from Dortmund, Germany, and the owner has had Cognac lambswool insert rugs custom-made for the car. Its black headlining has also been changed to the original 1970s Champagnecoloured brushed nylon.

1978 Alpine A310 V6

The A310 took over from the A110, but thanks to a heavier body and no improvement in engine performance, it was generally thought of as being underpowered. That all changed in 1976, with the Robert Opron-styled V6 model. Although sales were more than double those of its four-cylinder predecessor, it was still a rare sight compared with its great rear-engined competitor, the Porsche 911; total production was just under 9300. This car has covered 30,000km (18,000 miles) from new, and is one of four DeLorean-engined test cars with unique fuel injection. It’s the only one running in the UK. These four cars were supplied by Renault to DeLorean in Northern Ireland to test the engine, because the new DeLorean model wasn’t ready.

1985 Renault 5 Turbo 2

Once Renault had built the 400 Turbo 1s it needed to homologate the racing cars for Group 4 competition, it created a second version that dialled back some of the more expensive parts of the build process.

The Bertone seats and dashboard were replaced with those from the R5 Alpine, and light alloy parts were superseded with steel. The car was thus much cheaper, but it was still just as fast – it could hit 120mph all-out, and 62mph in 6.9 seconds.

To keep it planted on the road it used rear suspension derived from that of the Alpine A310 V6, while the five-speed manual transmission was sourced from the 30 TX, but rotated through 180º. Unlike the normal front-wheel-drive R5s, power for the Turbo 1 and Turbo 2 went to the rear wheels only.

2021 Alpine A110GT

For many years Renault had followed the hothatchback route, releasing numerous class-leading cars over the decades. With the rebirth of the Alpine brand, there was a return to the low-slung coupé styling that was last seen in the 1990s.

The dramatic A110 was revealed to the world in 2017. Powered by a 1.8-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine matched to a seven-speed