Teh Car Blogz

One of the most rewarding experiences you can have while driving a car is attacking a truly challenging piece of tarmac. At least, that’s my opinion. Some people get their jollies from heads-up drag races. That’s interesting once; then the result is the same every time if your technique is any good. Revs up, drop clutch, spin tires lightly, hold till redline, clutch and shift, rinse, repeat, snore. Great, your Mustang runs 13.1 seconds in the quarter mile.

But a good road is different every time you go down it. On a long curvy piece of tarmac, there is an infinite number of permutations as to how you can take it, what line to follow, how late to brake and which gears to use. On a truly good road, a better driver in a slower car will beat a mediocre driver in a more capable car every time. That’s why I love a good road. Plus, lateral g-forces are more fun that frontal.

The question then becomes: what exactly is the best conveyance to fling yourself down that favorite backroad like your hair’s on fire? The answer: there is no answer. Like the cat-skinning question (as an aside: who would want to skin a cat? That’s just mean. I love cats) there are many answers.

1) With A Scalpel

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Lost somewhere in the annuls of automotive history are some truly storied brands. Some are still around and largely ignored, whereas others have died out and faded away and out of the collective memory of drivers everywhere. This series aims to take a look at a few of these such brands and talk about how they started, how they ran, and why they failed.

First up on the block is the largely forgotten Alpine marque, hailing from France. Alpine was founded in 1955 by Jean Rédélé, a garage owner in Dieppe, France. He got his start post-WWII campaigning modified Renault 4CV’s in various racing events, including the Mille Miglia as well as various other circuit races and rallies. Rédélé’s 4CV’s offered significant improvements over the factory versions: more powerful engines, 5-speed close-ratio gearboxes instead of 3-speeds, and reduced weight from custom-made aluminum body panels. His continued experience with the 4CV lead to class wins at the Mille Miglia as well as the Coupe des Alpes, which is where the brand’s name is derived from.

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Editor’s Note: This is the second part of an article I intended to finish a few weeks ago. I got distracted. It happens.

Moving along in the dream garage, we come to an absolutely crucial choice:

6) 1995 Volvo 850 T-5R Estate

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