128 Classic&SportsCarDecember 2015
As before,the pressheapedaccoladeson the
A310’s handling,Motorobservingthatit
‘corneredas if on rails’.Less impressive,given
the new car’s intendedGT role,was the lack of
luggagespace,whiletherewas also a whisperof
disappointmentthat the Renault‘four’didn’t
offerquitethe supercarpacethat the rakishlines
promised. The latter failing would be addressed
five yearsinto the A310’s lifetime,finallyestab-
lishingthe modelas the 911 rivalthatit had
alwayspurportedto be. Announcedat the 1976
ParisSalon,the revisedversion– identifiableby
its moreorthodoxquad-headlampfrontend and
a chunkyrear spoiler– packedan all-alloyV6
enginein its shapelytail.
Fed by an unusualcombinationof one single-
and onetwin-chokeSolexcarburettor , the
2664ccDouvrinunitproduced150bhpand a
useful151lbft of torque,giving0-60mphin just
7.2 secs and a top speedof 140mph.In the inter-
ests of mechanicallongevity, the R12gearbox
was droppedin favourof the strongerfour-speed
transmissionfromthe R30,althougha five-
speedunit wouldbecomeavailablein 1980.
In six-cylinder guise, the A310 would remain
in productionuntil1984,its replacementbeing
unveiledat the GenevaSalonin Marchof that
year and – in a first for the marque– launchedin
the UK two yearslater.
Whereasthe A310’s stylinghad beena radical
leapforwardcomparedto the A110,the third
generationof our triumvirate– the GTA – was
Clockwise,frommain:
A310cornersbrilliantly;
DouvrinV6givespunchy
performance;evolution
fromrallywe apontoroad
car;we dgeprofileofA310