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.

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.

[[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.

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.