Editing Automobiles Alpine (section)

=== Early days ===
[[File:Alpine A106.jpeg|thumb|left|The [[Alpine A106|A106]], Alpine's first car]]
Using [[Renault]] 4CVs, Jean Rédélé gained class wins in a number of major events, including the [[Mille Miglia]] and [[Coupe des Alpes]]. As his experience with the 4CV grew, he incorporated many modifications, including special five-speed gearboxes replacing the original three-speed unit. To provide a lighter car, he built a number of special versions with lightweight aluminium bodies, driving them at [[24 Hours of Le Mans|Le Mans]] and [[12 Hours of Sebring|Sebring]] with some success in the early 1950s.{{cn|date=May 2025}}

Encouraged by the development of these cars and subsequent customer demand, he created the Alpine brand in 1954. It was named "Alpine" after his ''Coupe des Alpes'' successes.<ref name=R /> He did not realise that in England the previous year, [[Sunbeam Motor Car Company|Sunbeam]] had introduced a sports coupe derived from the [[Sunbeam-Talbot|Sunbeam Talbot]], named the "[[Sunbeam Alpine]]". This naming issue caused problems for Alpine throughout its history.{{cn|date=May 2025}}

[[File:Renault Alpine.jpg|thumb|[[Alpine A108]] Berlinette (1958–1965)]]
In 1955, Rédélé worked with the [[Coachbuilder|carrosserie]] [[Chappe et Gessalin]]. They were amongst the pioneers of auto [[glassfibre]] construction and produced a small coupe, based on 4CV mechanicals, called the [[Alpine A106]]. The A106 achieved a number of successes through the 1950s and was joined by a low and stylish cabriolet. Styling for the car was contracted to the Italian designer [[Giovanni Michelotti]]. Under the glassfibre body was a very stiff chassis based on a central tubular backbone which was to be the hallmark of all Alpines.{{cn|date=May 2025}}

Alpine then took the Michelotti cabriolet design and developed a 2+2 closed coupe (or '[[Berlinette (car body)|berlinette]]') body for it: this became the Alpine A108, now featuring the [[Renault Dauphine|Dauphine Gordini]] 845 cc engine, which on later models was bored out to give a capacity of 904 cc or (subsequently) 998 cc.<ref name=Automobilia1962>{{cite journal| title =Automobilia| journal = Toutes les voitures françaises 1962 (Salon Paris oct 1961)| volume = 19| page = Page 9|year = 1200|publisher=Histoire & collections}}</ref>  The A108 was built between 1958 and 1963.{{cn|date=May 2025}}