Classic & Sports Car - December 2015 UK

3-litre,250bhpA610.Although

baseduponthe GTA, the A610

sharesveryfew componentswith

the vehicleit replaced.By far the

quickestroadcar thatthe firm

produced,it sold in tiny numbers

here – just 68 werebuiltwith right-

hand-drive,in spiteof one being

cast as bad-guyMarcusTa ndy’s

wheelsin the BBCsoapEldorado.

If you fancyone,expectto pay

around£14,000for something

decent.Andif you wantthe very

best,Fast Classics(01483338903)

has a stunning2000-mileexample

that untillast yearwas ownedby

RenaultUK.At £41,995it’s not

cheap,but try findinganotherwith

similarmileageand provenance.

WILL ALPINE CLIMB NEW HEIGHTS?

MARKETPLACE MALCOLMTHORNE’SDEALSONWHEELS

196 Classic&SportsCarDecember 2015

If our featureon Alpine-Renaults

(page124)piquedyourinterest,

you’llbe relievedto hear that values

appearto havelevelledoff – for the

moment,at least.Renaultis due to

relaunchthe marquein 2016,so

pricescouldwellbe stimulated

furtheras awarenessincreases.

“Therewas a surgeon the GTA

at the start of the year,” says Liane

Metcalfeof VelocityAutomobiles

(020 8207 4041),“but thingsseem

to havesettledagain.”TheLe

Mansis the mostsought-after, but

only 325 werebuilt– of whichjust

26 wereUK-marketcars.

Of the standardvariants,Turbos

are mostplentifuland are more

easilytuned,makingthemthe more

stylingof Velocity’s 1971VE. “The

four -cylinderis consideredby some

to representthe last of the genuine

Alpines,”says Metcalfe,“and recent

trendsshowincreasedinterest.”

The top of the peckingorderis

occupiedby the A110,someexam-

ples of whichare now commanding

£90,000–althoughyou couldeasily

pay twicethat figurefor genuine

competitionversionswithworks

history. Originalcars tend to be the

mostdesirable,and modssuchas

widearchescan put peopleoff.

Mostbuyerswantthe 1600S,which

makesthemthe priciest– a 1300

couldbe yoursfor about£50k.

Last of the line, at least untilthe

launchof next year’s coupé,is the

popularchoice,althoughthe price

differentialisn’t huge.You’ll pay

£8-10kfor agoodexampleof either,

whichmakesspecialistPaul Fraser-

Sage’s(020 32412065)smartTurbo

tempting at £7850. By far the rarest

GTA is the race-preparedEuropa

Cup.Only69 werebuilt,and if you

can find one, expectto pay £35k.

Althoughthe GTA wasthe

Dieppecompany’s mostmain-

streammodel,the A310remainsits

best-sellerto date,withV6s being

far morecommonthanthe four-

cylindertype(of whichjust 2340

werebuilt).At the timeof writing,

ParisiandealerMahulClassic(0033

1 58 05 35 44) had a superbV6 for

£21k,but puristsmaypreferthe

Giant-killingCoventryracer sellingforseriouswedge

HarrisMann’s dramaticsportscar has alwaysbeen muchmaligned,but our

mouthsstartedwateringwhenwe spottedthis ex-BobTulliusTR8 –one of

only twobuilt –beingofferedby CaliforniandealerGrand Prix Classics.

AfterwinningtheTrans-Amtitle for Jaguarin 1977and ’78,Tullius’

BL-backed Group44 teamturnedits attentionto theV8-poweredTriumph

for 1979.The car provedto be instantlycompetitive, takingfour class wins

from fivestartsin its first season,with anotherfour in 1980–makingit one

of the most successfulSCCAand IMSAproduction-basedracing cars built.

TheTriumph’s final race in periodwas the 1981Sebring12 Hours,after

whichit remainedwithTullius until

2008.The car changedhandsagain

in 2011,and was subsequently

restoredat acost of nearly$200k.

It has sinceappearedatThe Quail

as well as in historicracing.

If this slice of historytemptsyou,

go to http://www.grandprixclassics.com

HugelysuccessfulTR8 will

set youback acool $350k,

but has superbpedigree

Clockwise:Ean Cannon

boughthis GTAafter

seeingit inC&SC(June);

early A310has wacky

nose;rally recordmakes

A110the priciestmodel

‘Thetopofthepecking

orderisoccupiedbythe

A110,withsomeexamples

nowcommanding£90,000’