Alpine A108 Berlinette Tour de France

The A108 Berlinette Tour de France is the point where Alpine’s familiar Berlinette idea comes into focus. It is a rewarding collector subject because it connects the early derivatives to the A110 without allowing the successor’s fame to erase the earlier car’s identity.

History and documented identity

Alpine places the Tour de France Berlinette at the 1960 Paris Motor Show; the Dieppe club records two examples entered in the Tour de France in September that year. Accordingly, this profile corrects the inventory’s 1959 date to a documented 1960 debut. Alpine — Alpine passion through the years at Retromobile.

Design and collector significance

View the body as a step in a developing design language. The interest is not merely that it resembles a later A110. It shows an earlier solution in its own right. A good collection description should therefore explain the car’s identity on its own terms, then show what carried forward. Styling resemblance alone cannot authenticate an engine, establish a chassis number or prove competition participation.

How to identify the right specification

Tour de France in the model name does not mean every surviving example competed in the event. A named body derivative and an individual competition history are separate records. If a car is presented as an actual event participant, require a dated entry and evidence connecting that entry to the specific chassis. Modern photographs of a restored car wearing a racing number cannot fill that gap.

Production, rarity and counting scope

The inventory’s 236 figure is not a verified Tour de France-only allocation. The narrower Dieppe production reference and broader A108 totals should remain qualified by place, period and body scope. This profile establishes the documented derivative while leaving the numeric production field empty. It does not treat a parent-family reference as a numbered edition or claim an exact survivor population.

What to inspect before buying

For a proposed purchase, ask a specialist to assess the body and steel structure together. Review engine identification, cooling arrangement, structural repair history and the evidence supporting the claimed body type. Prefer dated photographs and detailed restoration records to a single statement that the car was restored to original condition. If the car was deliberately restored to a later configuration, record that choice and the evidence for it.

Where it fits in an Alpine collection

Compare this car with the A108 Cabriolet to understand the body development, then with the A110 956 to follow the successor. Keep the Brazilian Willys Interlagos lineage outside a French Dieppe production count. A licensed derivative may look closely related while belonging to a different manufacturing and identification history.

Collector documentation checklist

• Separate the original build description from the car’s current specification.
• Keep chassis, engine and ownership evidence together in a dated file.
• Record which claims come from factory material, club research, an auction catalogue or the present owner.
• Retain photographs of restoration and significant component replacements.
• Keep completed production, regional allocation and known survivors in separate fields.

Frequently asked questions

When did the Tour de France Berlinette debut?

The checked Alpine retrospective documents the 1960 Paris Motor Show, and the Dieppe club documents participation in September 1960.

Did every example race the Tour de France?

The model designation is not evidence of an individual car’s event participation.

Can Willys production be counted as Dieppe production?

No. Licensed regional manufacture must retain its own scope.

Explore related Alpine profiles

• Alpine A108 Cabriolet
• Alpine A110 Berlinette 956

Sources and research scope

• Alpine — Alpine passion through the years at Retromobile
• Club Alpine Dieppe — A108 history
• Alpine — Celebrating 60 years of Alpine

Historical facts follow the linked records; inspection guidance and collection comparisons are editorial analysis. Where sources use different counting scopes or a subtype remains broad, those limits are stated rather than resolved with an invented number.

Photography and credit

Alpine A108 Berlinette photographed in a museum; the source identifies the displayed car as a 1962 example. Photo: Willtron / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0. Original file imported without content retouching. WordPress may resize display copies; the website layout may crop them.