Vintage Tuner Cup Entry; 1973-1980
KC Motorsport Alpine A110 Berlinette Rallye
306hp@6000 rpm
237lb.ft@5500 rpm (estimated peak torque - information not provided by GT4)
650kg / 2.125 WPR
The Alpine A110 1600S holds the distinction of being the world's first World Rally Champion. KC Motorsport loves this car, and now offers its reimagination of a homologation special for tarmac rallying.
Known in other parts of the world by many names, "Berlinette" and "Interlagos" among them, the A110 dominated the early 70's rally scene. Though the A110 began life in 1964 as a 1.1L and played host to a number of Renault and Lotus engines throughout its life, the ultimate expression of the breed is unquestionably the 1973 1600 VC, using the 1605cc Renault R17TS motor. This is the car, campaigned by Renault the same year it bought Alpine, that won the world's first World Rally Championship for Makers. It's been piloted by drivers as famous as Emerson Fittipaldi, and only fell from its reign of dominance upon the release of the Lancia Stratos, the world's first scratch-designed rally car.
We at KC Motorsport have given the car a thorough working-over; the Lotus-inspired steel backbone chassis is the only element that has been left alone. The engine has undergone a total modernization under rebuild, and a much more capable modern turbocharger mated with modern fuel injection pumps out an astonishing 306 horsepower at the flywheel. A lightweight 6-speed racing gearbox transmits torque through a sophisticated rear differential, allowing just enough of the car's tailhappy soul to remain while producing fantastic amounts of grip. The suspension has been tossed out in favor of a rebuilt independent double-wishbone setup from an A310, and the largest racing discs we could cram in the wheel wells provide deceleration. A rear wing and chin spoiler carefully tailored to suit the car's lines add even more grip, and lightweight modern materials bring the car's weight down to about the heft of a fingernail clipping.
The result is a total transformation. Whereas the original A110's main goal in life was to put its tail in front of it, the Berlinette Rallye is composed, balanced, easy to drive, and most of all, FAST - in fact, likely neck-and-neck with the KC Motorsport Elan and a scant few others as the fastest (semi)road-legal car of its displacement in the world. Stability and weight transfer are exceedingly balanced for a rear-engined car. Turn-in and follow-through are smooth and connected. The motor produces one of the most directly linear power and torque bands we've ever seen, relegating power oversteer to right at the redline, where it's easily controllable and very usable. All the gears are accessable - even 1st gear doesn't produce much wheelspin to speak of. At full throttle in 1st, drivers using automatic gearing may get caught on the rev limiter reaching for 2nd, but this is easily remedied by a moment's partial lift. The only word of advice to manual drivers is this: due to the linear powerband, if you let your revs drop too low, you WILL experience turbo lag. Simply downshift to avoid this. The brakes are tuned to allow two different approaches to corners. Get on them easily at first, increasing pressure approaching turn-in, and it will behave like any other mid- or rear-engined sportscar. Get on them HARD at the outset and you can create some thrilling rotation to carry a brutal drift through the apex.
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Parts List
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RC Exhaust
Racing Brakes, Brake Balance Controller
Port Polish, Engine Balancing, Racing Chip
Stage 3 Turbo
FC Transmission
Triple-Plated Clutch
RC Flywheel
FC LSD
FC Suspension
Stage 3 Weight Reduction, NO RIGIDITY INCREASE
S3 Tires
Oil Change
Wing
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Settings
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BBC: 5/9
Spring Rates: 4.0/7.5
Ride Height: 74/84
Damper (Bound): 3/7
Damper (Rebound): 5/9
Camber: 3.0/2.0
Toe: 1/0
Stabilizers: 3/5
Downforce: 30/30
Differential: 5/37/8
Weight Balance: Ballast Weight '0'; Front/Rear Balance '50'
Gearing:
Perform the tranny trick first (Max out Final Drive, set Autoset to 25 then back to 1). Set Final Drive to 3.400. Set each ratio as follows.
---(1) 2.215 / 1.650 / 1.335 / 1.116 / 0.949 / 0.816 (6)---