The Alpine A110 Berlinette is one of the definitive rally cars of the 1960s and 1970s, a rear-engined, rear-wheel-drive coupé built on a steel backbone chassis with a lightweight fibreglass body. This Trofeu piece captures a late-career entry at one of the WRC calendar's most punishing events, detailing the car as it appeared specifically for night-stage competition in Greece in 1976.
The Alpine A110 Berlinette: Backbone, Fibreglass and Rear Engine
Developed by Alpine from 1962 and produced through 1977, the A110 Berlinette is built around a steel backbone chassis clothed in a fibreglass body — a combination that kept kerb weight low and tarmac agility high. Its compact proportions suited the tight mountain roads of the Acropolis Rally. Power came from a Renault-sourced 1600 cc four-cylinder mounted at the rear, producing circa 160–175 bhp in Group 4 competition tune.
Car No. 10 at the 1976 Acropolis: Night Stages in Greece
By 1976 the A110 was no longer a factory weapon — Alpine had moved on at the works level — but the car remained competitive in the hands of experienced privateers. Bob Neyret, a noted French rally driver and long-time Alpine exponent, entered car No. 10 alongside co-driver Evelyne Vanoni, one of the active female co-drivers in 1970s WRC competition. The Night Version designation refers to the car's configuration for special stages run in darkness, most notably the fitment of auxiliary driving lights to the front bodywork, a period-correct detail that sets this entry apart visually from daytime-specification A110s.
Trofeu's 1:43 Die-Cast: The RR Series Approach
Trofeu is a Portuguese manufacturer with a long specialism in 1:43 die-cast rally and racing models, particularly known for accurate livery reproduction across WRC and classic rally subjects. This release belongs to the RR series and is constructed in die-cast metal. The model replicates the Night Version livery of No. 10, including the auxiliary lights arrangement at the front — the kind of specific-specification detail that distinguishes individual Trofeu releases within a broader A110 range and makes them sought after by completist collectors.
In the Display Cabinet: Pairing and Context
At 1:43, the model occupies a compact footprint suitable for dense rally-themed displays. It pairs naturally with other Trofeu Acropolis Rally 1976 entries — Fiat 131 Abarth and Datsun 160J among the field that year — or with Alpine A110 variants from the 1973 Monte Carlo Rally to build a narrative arc of the car's competition career. Collectors assembling a WRC 1970s grid, or specifically a female co-driver series, will find this Neyret/Vanoni car a historically grounded addition.
