Renault Alpine GTA V6 turbo

BrianD3

Has anyone here ever seen one of these ultra rare junior supercars on the roads in this country. I have seen two - a black one near mondello park and a red one on the M50. It is a beautiful car in my opinion (others will undoubtedly disagree) with unique styling and many special features. In its day it was a very well regarded car. I have a road test where it kills the Porsche 944 and the 1990 Nissan 300ZX despite being a lot cheaper than both. I've seen another road test where it was compared with a Lotus Esprit Turbo and 911 Carerra and while it wasn't the testers favourite it acquitted itself well and offered excellent value (2/3 the price of the Porsche)

JB123

There used to be a white one floating around bray havnt seen it in a long time. Nice cars starting to get very rare now.

cheapthrills

there used to be a red one on an 88D plate around stillorgan a few years ago, havent seen it in a long time, great looking, rare and pretty cheap. you could pick up a nice one for 5/6k in the u.k.

mike65

Near Supercar performance/rarity for half the price of a Ferrari. Wont rust as made of carbon fibre, did'nt sell so now cheaper than ever. Just pray you never need to replace the windscreen - over 1000 euro.

Country of origin

---

France
Years of production

---

1985 - 1990
Numbers built

---

4660
Weight

---

1190 kilo / 2623.5 lbs

Engine

---

Renault Z7U 730 90º V 6
Engine Location----Rear , longitudinally mounted
Displacement

---

2.458 liter / 150 cu in
Valvetrain-- 2 valves / cylinder, OHV
Fuel feed--- Fuel injection
Aspiration---Single Garrett T3 Turbo
Gearbox---- 5 speed Manual
Drive

---

Rear wheel drive

Performance figures
Power 197 bhp / 147 KW @ 5750 rpm
Torque

---

290 Nm / 214 ft lbs @ 2250 rpm
BHP/Liter--- 80 bhp / liter
Power to weight ratio--- 0.17 bhp / kg
Top Speed---250 km/h / 155 mph
0-60 mph Acceleration---6.9 s

http://www.carsurvey.org/model_Renault_GTA.html



Meanwhile you could have the even faster smoother looking A610

Engine

---

Renault 90º V 6
Engine Location-Rear , longitudinally mounted
Displacement----2.975 liter / 181.5 cu in
Valvetrain--2 valves / cylinder, SOHC
Fuel feed--Multi point Fuel injection
Aspiration-- Garrett T3 Turbocharger
Gearbox---- 5 speed Manual
Drive

---

Rear wheel drive

Performance figures
Power 250 bhp / 187 KW @ 5750 rpm
Torque----350 Nm / 258 ft lbs @ 2900 rpm
BHP/Liter---84 bhp / liter
Power to weight ratio----0.18 bhp / kg
Top Speed---265 km/h / 165 mph
0-60 mph Acceleration---5.6 s

BrianD3

Yes mike the A610 is even better and faster however I actually prefer the styling of the GTA.

As for performance, according to my GTA road test, 0-60 comes up in 6.5 seconds, top speed 154 mph. 50-70 in 3rd takes 3.2, in 4th 4.7, in 5th 6.6. This is very good mid range power.

It just shows what can be done with a relatively modest power output of 197 bhp if the weight is kept low and aerodynamics are good.

The other thing about the GTA is that it's actually a very usable car. I'd say it'd be far less temperamental than a Ferrari or Lotus and parts would be cheaper than a Porsche. After all it uses standard Renault running gear. Plus there's a lot more room in the back seats than with most 2+2s.

Just looking at some more specs. for the GTA
Front tyres 195/50 ZR15
Rear tyres 255/45 ZR15

Helluva difference between the front and rear tyres there! 255 width tyres on a 15+ year old car are very wide.

BrianD3

dahamsta

We had one in Cork about 7-10 years ago, Racing Green, unbelievable quick (came up behind me one day just as I was looking in the rear view mirror, frightened the life out of me). It was written off on the Passage road; allegedly by the owner's son but that could be an urban legend. Whoever it was anyway, they lost it on a corner and the body completely shattered, bits of which are probably still hanging around people's bedrooms today, since there was a souvenir hunt the next morning.

adam

BrianD3

the body completely shattered

I'm not surprised that it did. Passive safety generally wasn't a priority for low volume, specialist vehicles made of plastic and/or with spaceframe construction. This would apply to Ferraris, Lotuses and Lamborghinis but not to Porsches.

BrianD3

BrianD3

I forgot to mention the limited edition GTA Le Mans. It was basically the same car except with bigger wheels, wider rear wheelarches and slightly different (and uglier IMO) front end styling. Only 25 of these were ever sold in the UK. Check out the aggressive rear end styling. Looks almost like a modded car but it's factory original

knifey_spoonie

My dad had one when they came out first.

One crashed into charlie haughys wall, in the paper it was callled a supercar AFAIK

mike65

knife_fighter wrote:

My dad had one when they came out first.

One crashed into charlie haughys wall, in the paper it was callled a supercar AFAIK

Got any pics?

Mike.

ubu

That Le Mans looks like an absolute beast!

I wouldnt be too impressed with the front end styling on the GTA, just looks very 1980's, prob coz it is but anyway nice performance figures i'd take that A610 or the Le Mans tho!

dahamsta

BrianD3 wrote:

I'm not surprised that it did. Passive safety generally wasn't a priority for low volume, specialist vehicles made of plastic and/or with spaceframe construction.

Apparently yerman walked out of it without a scratch, so the frame must've been pretty well built.

adam

BrianD3

That Le Mans looks like an absolute beast

Yep. The rear end styling is butch and aggressive making the car look like it has a lot more than 200 bhp. The rear wheels are 17 inchers (15 inchers on normal GTA) And the tyres on the LeMans look like they might be even wider than the massive 255 section width ones on the GTA.

BrianD3

unkel

At the time one of my favourite cars

Have only ever seen one here. You'd still see them occasionaly on the continent

I think most of the Alpines sold were the non-turbo. 0-62 in 8 seconds and top speed of 145mph from a 160bhp engine is mighty decent alright

A basic '90 944 and a '90 non-turbo 300 ZX have pretty much the same performance figures. The Porsche and the Renault were about the same price, The Nissan was a helluva lot cheaper

Which makes one question the value for money of the Renault at the time really...

Dr. Dre

There's a white one here in Dundalk, it's used for day-to-day use from what I can see, it's always parked in and around the same spot during office hours.

ubu

so when's it getting delivered brian??!

BrianD3

The Porsche and the Renault were about the same price, The Nissan was a helluva lot cheaper.

Well, the 1990 300ZX wasn't available without a turbo. Perhaps the older flabby model was but in the test I have the Alpine was being compared with the new at the time 300ZX twin turbo and the prices were
Alpine GTA turbo - 29995 stg
Nissan 300ZX - 34499 stg
Porsche 944 S2 - 35682 stg

On paper the Nissan had the best performance figures however the testers found that it didn't live up to its claimed performance and actually ended up being slower than the Alpine as did the Porsche.

And here's the other road test I mentioned.
http://www.lotusespritworld.com/ERoadtests/TurbovGTAv911_CAR.html

so when's it getting delivered brian??!

When I can afford the insurance Maybe in 10 years or so

<edit> unkel I didn't read your post properly (duh!) didn't see that you were talking about the non-turbo GTA. Well according to another test the 1990 non-turbo was tested as 145 mph top speed, 0-60 in 6.6, price 25135 stg which makes it not much slower than the turbo and even better value.

BrianD3

unkel

BrianD3 wrote:

Alpine GTA turbo - 29995 stg
Nissan 300ZX - 34499 stg
Porsche 944 S2 - 35682 stg

That sure makes the Alpine good value

Just found another test (again non turbos and beware tis in German) probably from the early 80s
here between the 944, the A310 and the Alfa Romeo GTV 2.5 V6. No clear winner, 0-62mph pretty much the same and highest topspeed for the 944. The testers liked the Alpine though and found it the sportiest of the three. The Porsche was the better allrounder

Pricing again is not in favour of the Alpine with the Alfa at €17k, the Porsche at €20k and the Renault at €21k

ambro25

French Gendarmes had them as (M'way) pursuit cars for a short while - t'was more a PR thing to generate urban myth than anything, but that single blue gyrolight on top was most uncool .

Can't beat the original A110 for styling and driving, though - but you'll be looking long & hard, more so than for these 80s monstrosities .

ds20prefecture

These are very cool cars.

I believe they were made by Matra for Renault and they use the usual Matra trick of light body on very rigid skeleton (Unitary construction, I think it's called). Similar designs are the Rover P6, Citroën DS, early Studebakers and Tatras (Budd and Ledwinka came up with the method in the 20s). And of course the late, much lamented Avantime. Well lamented by me anyway.

Here's some for sale
http://www.europexpo.com/fr/4/48/400783/fiche.htm
http://www.novaweb.fr/detail.php?id=126229 - looks like a GT
http://www.novaweb.fr/detail.php?id=125490 - a Turbo
http://www.novaweb.fr/detail.php?id=124934

BrianD3

AFAIK, Alpine and Matra are two entirely separate companies with Alpine being located in Dieppe and building the A110, GTA etc. plus the Renault 5 Turbo 1/2 and the Clio V6. Whereas Matra is located near Paris and built the Avantime and all Espaces until the current (metal bodied) car was launched. Matra were also heavily involved in F1 racing years ago. Both Alpine and Matra have legendary status among a lot of car enthusiasts.

BrianD3

R5TCV6

Hi,

Just browsing through an interest in all things Renault including GTA’s/Alpines and came across this thread. It is old I know but this may interest GTA enthusiasts. With regard to the integrity of the crashworthiness of such cars, the GTA was particularly robust. Contrary to believe and misconceptions about the strength of glass fibre based structures they were actually quite safe in an accident and energy absorbent whereas rigid steel panelled cars of the era were more inclined to fold with high impact shock and damage experienced.

I once overheard a comment from a GTA admirer with regard to what they thought as dangerous in relation to the location of the fuel tank.A little discerning for most, right upfront offset to the passenger side in the front compartment area where most cars have engines! The first casualty you would imagine in the event of an accident with serious consequences. The tank itself came direct from Formula 1 Technology through Renaults racing experience and Renault assured at the time that it was capable of withstanding high impact forces much to the dismay of most.

I seen that very same car after a serious accident and the only part left intact up to the Driver/Passenger compartment was the fuel tank nicely perched up on the struts only held on by the fuel lines.. Even back then Renaults made safer cars….. It sort of puts the car into perspective when you consider that the super cars as they are known such as Lotus and Lamborghini have a tendency to light up on occasions in traffic!.. Pricey at the time of around 50000 punts, the GTA was a fantastic car and still has super car looks to many..

Renotec

BrianD3 wrote: »

Has anyone here ever seen one of these ultra rare junior supercars on the roads in this country.

Worked on a lot of the Southern Ireland A series models. Very fast, lots of clutch problems especially master cylinders - (getting hot from take off). Very reliable engines. I loved the driver position and design. There is a good following in France and Germany. Parts are not expensive and easy to get.

Gary ITR

Took this in Terenure a couple of years ago.

antodeco

One here: http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1179750

What would the VRT be on one of them?

alpina

Years back a friend of mine arrived home from UK for a week with one, blinding power! Supposedly the electrics were a nightmare, now same guy would not know what a fuse looks like so don't know how reliable...

Bitten & Hisses

BrianD3 wrote: »

Whereas Matra is located near Paris and built the Avantime and all Espaces until the current (metal bodied) car was launched. Matra were also heavily involved in F1 racing years ago. Both Alpine and Matra have legendary status among a lot of car enthusiasts.

And of course Matra also built the rather nice Murena:

Rust or Weld

I remember the white one in scumdalk, often wondered where it went?

R5TCV6

Low slung drive position was really nice when fitted with the leather which was of very high quality, Basically same engine as R25 Turbo so parts not all just confined to GTA. The 25 Turbo was popular enough in the UK so second hand parts might be an option. Like all performance Renaults they run perfect when driven and maintained as designed. They are not listed on the VRT query page so it would be a guesstimate I would imagine until brought up to the VRT centre to be assessed. The black looks well, the wheels are different to the original turbine wheels that added, I thought to the sleek look. There was a black import floating around some years back. A good few have come in from the UK in the last number of years. There was one Irish registered Le Mans, a special edition, back in 91 They gained and lost a little power with the introduction of the Cat so evenstevens in the power/performance stakes in general with some minor gains but it had more road presence due to the extended arches and chrome wire type wheels. This along with the official colour scheme of burgundy metallic with a gloss black roof made it instantly recognisable over the standard models. I have a picture somewhere and I will post when I locate it.

spooky donkey

ah Lad in my job has one. I did take some pics of it cant find them right now but will post them up later if I can find them.

R5TCV6

A GTA Le Mans? That would be one nice collectors car and would fetch a very good price in time to come. If it is a le Mans it would be well worth holding onto…

Spitfire

Guys,
Just got mine (89 GTA Turbo) back after a nine month restoration repair following some nasty person thieving it. I am aware of several of these cars around Dublin.
There is a blue 88 GTA Turbo in Rathmines and I have met 2 other owners over the last 2 years. I think both thier cars are off the road. There si also a recent rumour of an A610 arriving this weekend across the water.

I'll post some pics once I find out how to !!!!

Will bring it to the Octane C&C meet next weekend in Carrickmines.

Spitfire

Images added
http://www.photobox.ie/my/photo?albu..._id=1847548007
http://www.photobox.ie/my/photo?albu..._id=1847548033

unkel

Hi Spitfire, any chance you could upload your images as attachments? The links to your pictures on photobox don't work if you haven't signed up for photobox.

Spitfire

unkel,
Thanks for the reminder. I was off checking to see if they worked.
Obviously not!!!
Attachments as requested.

R5TCV6

The tungsten grey colour suits it, that’s a clean example, The Clio really shows how low the GTA is. There was an A610 in Dublin last year, driven by a lad that has a keen interest in GTA’s having owed a few, same colour as the one made famous! In top gear…

Grimreaper666

dahamsta wrote: »

We had one in Cork about 7-10 years ago, Racing Green, unbelievable quick (came up behind me one day just as I was looking in the rear view mirror, frightened the life out of me). It was written off on the Passage road; allegedly by the owner's son but that could be an urban legend. Whoever it was anyway, they lost it on a corner and the body completely shattered, bits of which are probably still hanging around people's bedrooms today, since there was a souvenir hunt the next morning.

adam

I remember seeing the photo of that accident on the paper, it hit a Saab 900 turbo iirc, two fairly classy cars in their day, it was big news for a couple of days around here. There was a red one on English plates here too for a while.

Hifive

Fabulous car, I haven't seen one in the flesh for 20 years when there was a pearl white GTA turbo near where I grew up,

I've always wanted one and it's high on my top ten favorites list.

Do you have any shots of the interior?
What's it like to drive and has it been reliable?
Mark.

Spitfire

HiFive,
Great car. I'll get the camera out this weekend and get some pictures for posting.
Car has been very reliable. Obviouosly some electrical niggles (it is an old Frenchcar after all ).
Has never let me down and I've always got home.
Driving is fantastic. Lots of power and grip and little or no weight.
The turbo kick in the back is addictive s is the V6 noise. I find myself lower the widow as I pass through tunnels and under bridges to hear the sound. Oh dear that does sound bad!!!!!!!!!!!!!:eek:

Stephen

dcr22B

Used to love reading about these as a young fella and (please don't strike down upon me for saying this), the frontal treatment always reminds me of the "Pursuit Special" Ford Falcon XB from Mad Max.

V480

I remember seeing Jeremy Clarkson interviewed on the Late Late a few years ago. Think he was asked about 'the effect motoring journos have on car sales' or something like that. Clarkson mentioned how he wrote an awful review of the new Toyota Corolla, slated so much that Toyota actually banned him from driving their cars! Around the same time he wrote about how the Renault Alpine was one of the best cars ever made, everybody who can afford it should buy one, ect. The Corolla was Europes biggest selling car that year while Renault sold about nine Alpines...

philgunn

as far as i know there is a Red Lemans in the Blarney area of Cork

pg

rugbyman

Dr. Dre wrote: »

There's a white one here in Dundalk, it's used for day-to-day use from what I can see, it's always parked in and around the same spot during office hours.

The guy who owned this white one is an alpine fan and he has it at home with the engine and box out of it to replace bushings. I saw him the other day in this green one which is his current driver. I took a picture to post up here.

Silvera

I worked for a Renault specialist back in 1992 and I recall a brand new A610 (on trade plates) arriving into the yard from Renault's Rosslare depot. Apparently it had been lying in the yard for several months and they decided it needed a good run to blow the cobwebs off it! IIRC it was blue in colour. Wonder if it found an Irish buyer after, or was it exported to the UK?

I also have this pic of an Alpine on my laptop. It was posted online within the last year or so...

Spitfire

Lightening,
That was me on my way to Mondello.
Surprised that you didnt see the car in Mondello as it was parked there both Sat & Sun.

Regards,
Spitfire

Spitfire

Silvera,
I know that blue GTA. It is the only other roadworthy one in Dublin (used daily by its owner)
It is another GTA turbo with leather interior.

Regards,
Spitfire

shagman

There's one up on Ebay, in Mayo but still on uk plates.
http://cgi.ebay.ie/1987-RENAULT-GTA-V6-TURBO-BLUE-/320533806681?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item4aa14dbe59

Max_Damage

I also have this pic of an Alpine on my laptop. It was posted online within the last year or so...

I've seen that blue GTA a few times, around Firhouse / Knocklyon alot.

Tigger

i'm in castlebar
pm me if you need it looked at

yardeyar

Hi I used to own a black 1987 GTA V6 Turbo, wow what a car, the petrol tank was in the front of the car and I always remember that when the car was full of petrol it was grand but when the car was low on fuel at high speed the front of the car wanted to wander! I took the car to the British Grand Prix and I drove home through the Welsh Mountains late at night. I came to road works with a contra-flow system and when I got to the red lights I was first. The lights went green and I knew (I mean.... I hoped) there was no one coming towards me and I gave the car a good gallop! That was about fifteen years ago and I still re live the moment! Great car, I always wanted a A610 but never bought one, maybe one day.... YEAH!

T13

dahamsta wrote: »

We had one in Cork about 7-10 years ago, Racing Green, unbelievable quick (came up behind me one day just as I was looking in the rear view mirror, frightened the life out of me). It was written off on the Passage road; allegedly by the owner's son but that could be an urban legend. Whoever it was anyway, they lost it on a corner and the body completely shattered, bits of which are probably still hanging around people's bedrooms today, since there was a souvenir hunt the next morning.

adam

The car was being driven by the owners son at the time and two cars were involved in the crash. The other car was also a write off. It was a Saab 900.
The Fire Brigade attended the accident and which resulted in the front end of the GTA being cut off of it and hence the car could not be repaired.
This occurred on a Friday evening in 1991/92 and the accident made the front page of the local newspaper, which reported that the rare model sports car etc with images had been destroyed.
The Le Mans version is stunning even at today's standards and they still fetch a high price, as a limit number were built in RHD.
Just to add, the car was wine in colour with a black roof and not green.

Renotec

T13 wrote: »

Just to add, the car was wine in colour with a black roof and not green.

Jeeez! Yes it was Wine (Burgundy) and I put a clutch in that one! - Fast motor!!