Hi....here you go the one of the best inventions in Spain ever in terms of motoring during the seventees.......hope you enjoy the pics and the story
Renault Alpinche
I coexisted many years with Estanislao Reverter and for that reason I know first hand some of its ideas. He was a person obsessed with the weight of the competition vehicles; he was the first in drilling as a strainer the pedals of its Porsche, vehicle that fascinated to him and in that it took bored until the bar of connection of the carburetors. "a gram cannot be wasted nor, - it said -, because thousand grams make a kilo, and gaining kilos gain seconds". I think that from there the idea arose to combine an excellent motor and power (the one of Porsche 911), with the lightness and aerodynamics of the Renault Alpine. And like Reverter he was a bold one and an action man, did not think it twice and he put hands to the work. To transplant the motor from Porsche 911 to the cockpit of the Alpine supposed to make previously many measurements. And in that de1971 occupied its Estanislao time that summer. As soon as the Rally de Orense had finalized that demanded all its organizing attention corno was centered in the work. Jose Pavón finished starring Porsche 911 in the orensana test, but the motor was intact; like in the heart transplants, already there was donor. Reverter acquired a Alpine and extracted the motor of the Porsche that gave a power of 210 CV. In its factories of the concessionaire Land Rover de Orense, the activity was febrile, but the car was finished shortly before the Rally Ri'as Low of August, proves in that Reverter tried to release its invention. An accident, when becoming inflamed the gasoline spilled in the transfer of cans by the match of a client, produced burns to him of consideration in the face, that to point were to make him pospone the opening of the vehicle. And what passed Lalao to you? it was the question of almost all the foreign participants who saluted to the orensano teacher in the Low prolegómenos of Ri'as. And there it was Lalao, with the face burned and full of ointment, ready to fight.
TRANSPLANT IN ORENSE
The body of the Alpine (of blue color Renault competition) completely was taken apart. In the interior the main picture of the Porsche settled replacing the one of the Alpine, all the superfluous upholsteries and coverings were eliminated, and they settled individual bacquets and the obligatory bars of protection. At first, all the front suspension took advantage of the Alpine, although it was reinforced, installing solely bushings with four esparrágos for special rims. The manufacturing company of rims Targa, provided specific of 7xl3 inches of width for the front axis and 9x13 inches in the buttock, roads with tires Dunlop Racing. And it is that you pass them of wheel of the Alpine did not allow to lodge wheels of greater height. In the back axis the things were more complicated. In order to lodge the motor and the gear box of the Porsche being maintained the exit semiaxes, were necessary to also maintain the suspension back of the Porsche, although the levels varied a little. For it, Reverter resorted to a back axis of Volkswagen, where it could anchor the torsion bars and elements of suspension of the 911. All this took place in few weeks, and as soon as it was left time to make expresses test of highway to sharpen the suspension settings. In the first exits, the car behaved badly enough. There was much descompensación between the axes, and Reverter had to put on approval its enormous dowries of pilot-probador to sharpen it. The nose rose when applying all the engine power Porsche, and the wheels lost adhesion. Not to have problems at high speed, Reverter installed small lateral baffle plates in front of aletines of the front wheels. In fact, the Alpinche never was a FIAR vehicle, and thus another pilot related us who had access to the Alpinche, Beny Fernandez, protagonist of his destruction in rally Sherry of 1975.
FIRST REALPOR, LATER ALPINCHE
When Estanislao Reverter finished its work, it baptized it like REALPOR, acrostic of Reverter - Alpine - Porsche. Lalao even took the annoyance to add a band with this name in the low part of the doors, with the same font that Porsche used in the low ones of its vehicle; but the public and mainly the liking, red-baptize it like Alpinche, and Alpinche remained. The car was painted in the colors of the Escudería Orense, strong orange, and it was come to ruin with a blue and white band of the Galician flag that crossed all the vehicle longitudinally. It did not lack either, the shield of the Escudería Orense with the wheel to sharpen, popular symbol of the city. And so that everything was in house, Reverter would alongside use like candidate to the seat of its Eloy friend Rodriguez.
THE LATER IMPROVEMENTS
After Ri'as Low of the 71, Reverter already thought about improving its invention. The idea mainly was the one to strengthen the front axis, because there the secret of its conduction resided. One resorted to install the greater number of pieces of the Porsche. the shock absorbers subjected in the superior part with a piece that allowed the regulation to be able to modify the advance. The brakes were modified totally, installing those of the Porsche and mechanizing new bushings. Also the direction rack came from the 911, as well as the gearshift and pedalier. The Alpinche improved remarkably, but still it had the defect of which when giving gas in the curves went away front. In fact, the life of the Alpinche was a continuous one to prove and to prove. In the Rally de Asturias the motor was had broken, and once put in expenses, it settled the 2,7 that cleared 280 CV almost. According to Jose Rua, the mechanical faithful of Reverter told us, after the installation of the most powerful motor, palieres broke itself. But as always the solution arrived from the hand of the imagination... and of which they more by hand had the untiring mechanics of Resfré: the crosspieces and the fluted ones of the Land Rover, unbreakable! THE SPORT LIFE OF THE ALPINCHE We said in the beginning, that the opening of the orensano hybrid took place in the Rally Ri'as Low of 1971 and was settled with a third position, behind competitive Porsche 911 of the Repsol equipment that lead by Eladio Doncel and Alberto Ruiz Giménez (the Bear), won habitually all rallys of the Championship of Spain of the specialty. But the victory arrived in Ri'as Low of Vigo in 1972, with the car much more sharpened and competitive and it was repeated in the 1973 edition. Peculiarly, only Estanislao Reverter obtained good results with the Alpinche, since its two pupilos Jose Pavón and Beny the Fernandez who used it in some occasions, were not able to take it to the goal, although yes individual important blows. First of them it corresponded to him to Jose Pavón, who in the ascent to I castrate of Beiro left the car quite damaged. To you are from the blow, reconstructed the nose, installing a great spoiler that occupied all the low part of the frontal. But also Reverter gave good meneos him, and to it is from one of them in the Navarrese Basque Rally, the car became to remake (more work for Juan the chapista of Lalao) with an aesthetic different good: a nose with square lights and aesthetic resemblance to the Ligier of the World-wide one of Resistance. It was the third nose, really ugliest of all, and the loss of the identity of the Alpine body. Reverter won, - in addition to both You laugh Low commented -1972 and 1973 -, the Rally 2000 Turns, the Criterium Luis de Baviera, the Rally de Asturias, the Rally of the Pazos and some ascents in hill like Almofrey and Manzaneda, the this one last only victory of the orensanas earth car. A sample of the good one for doing, valentía and the liking of this man, to whom the adventure of the Alpinche took to him already with more than 40 years. JEAN-PIERRE NICOLAS PROVES THE ALPINCHE With occasion of the Rally Firestone in which Reverter participated and Jean Pierre Nicolas (then pilot of official of Renault and recent winner of the Montecar it), the French requested to him to Lalao that let to him prove the Alpinche. When one lowered of the car suggested to him would have to make a series to sell, because it would be an unbeatable weapon in the World-wide one. It had enchanted to him.
HISTORY CAN RECOVER
According to it referred Luis to us Reverter, think that the Alpinche could be reconstructed. At the moment the rest that were after the accident in the Rally Sherry find deposited in a factory of Orense, although without motor. This one was sold later, but it is not difficult to recover the track and to return to acquire it. If some official organism helped (somebody thinks that the Delegation of Orense could do it), the Alpinche would be reconstructed to occupy a site in a museum of the city of burgas. It is a pretty idea, that hopefully one is fulfilled, because the Alpinche and Reverter comprise of the history of the city.
Renault Alpinche
Linear Mode
