Renault Alpine GTA Turbo - Why Great Cars Don't Always Sell 

Probably one of the most underrated RU-vid channels ever IMO.

I had one from new, living in France in the 80s, chosen over a Porsche 911. It was very comfortable and quiet over long distances, very quick, especially for the time and good fun to drive. Some care was needed in the rain. The stereo was memorably good. All in all, a great car. (No rattles at all).

I bought one new in 1988. Sold it 3 years later with 77k on the clock. Loved lt. Red black leather, graphic equaliser and volume control on the steering wheel.

I love the dashboard not because it's such a well thought out layout as you'd find in a BMW of that period but because it gives of that nostalgic 80s vibe that we had somehow arrived in the future.

Your pronunciation of "Grand Tourisme Alpine" wasn't terrible at all. In fact, it was almost perfect.

Glorious and way more interesting than a 911. For those doubting the looks, have a look at the very last of these - the A610. Wonderful.....

I think you're right Jack, selling it as a Renault was a big marketing mistake, when you're going up against a Porsche.

I remember Performance Car did a head-to-head between the Renault GTA V6 Turbo and the Renault 5 GT Turbo and listed the various predictable comparisons between the 2 cars. The R5 GT Turbo did a very good job of keeping up, but the author was completely bowled over by the GTA V6 Turbo. He said something on the lines of "it deserves to be a world class seller".....I then cut out the pictures and put them all on my bedroom wall! 👍

I have never heard a PRV engine sound like it does in this video. Kinda cool. Actually sounds a bit like an inline 5 at some moments in the video...

A few years ago, whilst crossing the Jura, I was lucky enough to witness well over 100 French Alpine Club members racing around the hairpins on route to Geneva. One had to be there to appreciate, but it was quite a spectacle particularly on such a challenging road.

Not to take the spot light off the Renault, but that group of Ferraris you passed at 7:02 was NUTS!!

Probably one of the most underrated cars ever IMO.

Epic car! imagined being wealthy businessman in 1985 driving around this GTA in la Defence in Paris playing Jean Michel Jarre Zoo Look album🎉

Back in the late eighties, I was working for Renault UK. I drove quite a few of these cars. Once you got used to them, they were a great, surprisingly fast, agile car. I have carried 2 adults in the rear seats, albeit not for many miles. They are still surprisingly inexpensive. Non Turbo versions, which are still a good car, are very good value. There is an excellent specialist, Alpine Renault Restoration, run by Paul Sage. His late father Jean Sage, who I met a few times, was the Renault Sporting Director.

The PRV is basically a V8 with 2 cylinders cut off. That's also why the block angle is not classic V6 and the ignition sequence is a weird odd-fire. Not every mechanic made the genuine effort to understand it. Fun fact: Volvo re-developed and refined the PRV for the 960 and 780 in which case it was renamed B280F. Power was 20hp more then the old B28. It i remember correctly the GTA Turbo also uses this improved PRV block design. I actually came very close to buying one. But altho these cars have a fibreglass body they do have a backbone chassis ( a bit like Lotus? ) and these chassis can and do rust! So, to prospective buyers, beware and have an inspection done by an Alpine specialist. Well worth it! Fun fact that hardly anybody knows: when Alfa Romeo needed an engine for their 155Ti DTM race car they realised that the Busso wasn't ideal for the task but the PRV V6 WAS! Not really surprising because the block was a fully alu-alloy casting and the block angle was wide so there was a LOT of space for a generous intake plenum and runners and the angle from the heads into header exhaust manifolds was also good. In the AR 155ti application the PRV was extremely succesful in the hands of Nicola Larini. Another succesful PRV application was in the MVS Venturi. Another french sportscar, more upmarket (competition for the V8 Ferrari's) and i think some faster models used twin turbo's. They also raced them at LeMans.

Look at that interior! Look at that switch gear! Ugh, gorgeous.

I’ve had two GTA’s and I loved both of them. The first was an ‘86 sold new here in New Zealand. The second was a 1990 which was badged as an Alpine (after the Talbot/Chrysler trade mark expired). The steering rack is straight out of a Fuego, so interesting you felt it steered well. Also the brakes are the same size front and rear and straight off an R30. One of the most disconcerting aspects is the bizarre ‘chine walk’ they do at higher motorway speed - a distinct movement from side to side that you have to power through. Another issue is the rear tyres that are unique to the car - still available from Michelin Heritage. Would I have another today? - ABSOLUTELY!

That might be the best sounding V6 I've ever heard 🥴

Oh my, this IS a surprise!! Thanks so much Jack, for featuring one of my all time favourites! Greetings from the Netherlands

Outstanding! Good of you to review one of my favorite cars, Perhaps, my absolute favorite French classic of the era. As a teenager in the USA, I wouldn't have typically known about Alpine-Renault 310 series, but because of a family friend who was a well-heeled connoisseur and collector I happened to get to know a pair of them quite well. They were a very early A310, with the 6 headlights under glass, and a later series model (directly preceding the one driven here) in white. This gentleman had imported them via gray market, at a non-trivial expense. The newer of the two had the flared wheel arches, deep dish Gotti modular wheels, and an integrated spoiler on the rear deck. Both were spirited rides and the older one of the pair was the first truly "exotic" car I'd ever been in, having been profoundly changed by a ride its owner took me on at the age of 9, shortly after it arrived in the states. It even had an on-board cellular phone, which I (of course) used to call my Mom, at home, excitedly reporting on the whole experience. This was probably 1979 or '80. Your review reminded me of these fond memories. As an aside, regarding your comment about Hoovie, I suspect that given his age and locale, he wouldn't have known how much of a parts bin special the GTA's interior was and, compared to its American "peers", its aesthetic probably seemed retro-futuristic and posh in spite of that. This is merely speculation but seems a reasonable assumption. Anyway, love the channel, do keep up the good work 27! Cheers!

Absolutely love this, looks fantastic, rarity. I’ve never driven one but as an ex-Porsche technician, I know the Porsche range inside out, I can say that the Carrera 3.2 quality of build or driving dynamics are not all they’re cracked up to be…

200BHP was a lot of power in the 1980s. Family cars were more like 90BHP.

Microsoft Windows is the most UNpopular operating system in the world - but it is the most widely installed... 🤓

When I want to relax I watch this channel. It has this sweet space around it.

those who want also buy..... it is very popular in Europe... it is a collector's car... for people who have 5 or more cars, then this will be the right one

Nobody notice the FERRARI’s???? 2 275GTB’s and what looks like a 330GTC??? Holy shit!! Jack!! Pull over!

Always wanted my dad to get one of these. To 8 year old me, the Renault Alpine GTA was a spaceship. I had a poster of a metallic blue turbo on my bedroom wall for years.

I think this car - while not really admired when new - will go down as one of the most uniquely and interestingly designed cars ever, and may even end up being timeless inside and out, in the same way Mies Van Der Rohe architecture is timeless.

I love all the Alpines. The new one should have been made rear engined too.

Fabulous car very underrated, Renault like Ford have a great racing history and many other cars had a Renault engine, like Lotus, De Lorean. I’d take one just to be different.

Remember years ago in a magazine they had a limited edition le mans version sort of metallic purple colour absolutely beautiful.

A very elegant, sophisticated sports car it probably didn't sell well in the UK because it was too noble and too French in appearance for the masses. It really deserved to sell a lot better in the UK. The general public forgets that Renault competes in Formula 1 and has a rich pedigree heritage in hot hatches that very few manufacturers can match!

This is one of my personal favorite cars! I wish more people remembered it.

My late uncle had a 310, this one here and then the wonderful looking LeMans with 250 PS. I always loved these cars and they were terribly underrated

Speedo's having a day off so we know it's French.

Not sure that the 911 is more conventionally pretty, it's just more familiar... Good review, Jack, on another oddball car. Keep them coming

I remember back in the day that performance car magazine would always rate the A610 (facelift one of these) in their top performance cars. They loved it

Wow! I have never heard a PRV V6 sound that good! Really cool car!

Always drooled over Alpine cars. My favourite was the A610 turbo. Great video Jack.

Fantastic review of this glorious and much underrated sports car! Dare to be different anyone? At the present value and prices, I belive there's never been a better time to own one. Congratulations - and thanks - to Greg! Also, in my opinion, a car - a giant slayer - was released that made such an impact it questioned spending so much more for anything else! The Ford Sierra Cosworth. It really was a game changer. Thanks again Jack. An excellent review for such a special car. P.S. So cool you drove past two Ferrari 275GTBs and a 250GT Convertible etc,. saw them yet didn't bat an eyelid!!

Used to own a 610 turbo back in ‘93. Lovely blue colour. I think there were only 12 registered in the UK that year. It was my company car and my fellow director had one in the same colour. We put them together and I reckon that was a one off. When I filled up with petrol nobody knew what it was. I remember that spares were always a problem. Loved it though.

Great, honest review! Now you can review my A610, when it's roadworthy again. I'm hoping that will be later this year. I'll be in touch!

I've never seen one of these before, but I kept being reminded of the Starion.

the sound around 11 minutes in this video is just f.....g great.

I remember, as a kid, being told off for sitting in one of these at the Earls Court Motor show shortly after they were launched. Loved it, and always been a bit sad we don't see more of them around.

Yes. Yes yes. I remember it advertised in mt dad's car magazines I read as a kid. Loved the looks... That dash I thought was pure future in the 80's

TY Jack 🙏🙏! Remember seeing my first one when they were new. I knew most cars, but thought 'what was that', it looked like a space ship! Still only seen a few decades since.

Oh I love these! great episode Jack

What a 😯 at 7:03 .... Jack switched to mute mode... and was wondering, will I stop and start discussing with those petrolhead ?

I own a GTA Turbo and most have a category status due to lack of some parts especially body parts i.e. rear lights etc

My old boss had one of these as a weekend car. I had a go on a few occasions as he used to let us drive his cars. Fantastic thing.

I Remember reading about these in Autocar when they came out, loved the look of them then, and still do! This one sounds great too😎, I hope to see it on the track one day🙂

Great review… quick and to the point…without leaving out important info😊

I love that you get a hold of this kind of thing. Haven't seen one of these for years! In most of the drive-by shots, when you talk about stability, I can see the poise and control it has. I've watched scores and scores of you vids, and you can visually perceive that this was very composed on the bends! Nice one.....keep em coming

"There's enough room for my head" I almost expected to see a bust of his head on the passenger seat.

Casual Ferrari classics parking at 7:03 😲😲😲

Always had a soft spot for these. This is a seriously cool example.

Awesome stuff as always Jack buddy 👍

mR 27,youve outdone yourself and before long the rest of the online community will catch on and then subs will skyrocket ,such a beautiful car filmed in a gorgeous setting 10/10

The first version, launched in 1971, had a spectacular six headlight front end that I quite like. Wish they had kept it.

Beautiful car from every angle. We had a lot of Renaults in Argentina (built there) but never one of these. Thanks I enjoy watching.

Great review...Saw this at a Renault Garage in the West end back in the 80's and it was the most beautiful car that I as a teenager had seen in a metallic white, sort of sparkled...Would love to get one now...

You forgot the wacky wipers 😊 very cool cars and loved the exhaust ❤️

I think Noble got the most of the PRV boat anchor. I loved these cars when they were current. They looked unique.

Yep my father bought my mother a 911 turbo in 1980’S I was only a 6 or 7 at the time she had it for 2 weeks and hated it and at the dealer was a beautiful red Renault alpine turbo and she loved it

A lot of things spoke against this car: 1. the lackluster PRV V6, even with turbo-charging. 2. the placement of the engine, with much of its weight behind the rear wheels, Porsche style (which gave it rather "interesting handling", as Jeremy Clarkson put it). 3. it was seen as a niche car from a car manufacturer that "only did common cars", something many commonly popular car manufacturers ran into when launching more daring designs.

That sounds really sweet 😁 Excellent choice Jack!

Nice exhaust setup, sounds like a right beast!

Excellent vid. Thank you very much.

I remember CAR Magazine pitching this up against the Esprit Turbo and the 911 Turbo. Of course, the 911 ran away with it but some years later its natural evolution - the A610 - was in Performance Car's CotY and won it outright. Still didn't sell well. Some cars are just too weird to be successful...

That turbine noise, yes. Also the French make such beautiful cars.

Your pronunciation of GTA in french was perfect 👌🏻

Great test drive Jack, always thought an underrated car. I was a RAC patrol in the 80's, working in a posh part of London and was sent out to a Renault Alpine on the morning after the great October storm of 1987. A tree had come down and completely squashed it. I felt for the owner as nothing could be done for days as the storm had ruined any chance of anything being done quickly.

Jack, what I love, and what keeps bringing me back to your channel, is that somehow you keep reviewing the cars that piqued my interest as a teen. Sure, Porsche, Ferrari, etc., are all easy pickings but you find the cars that fit some reason never went completely mainstream but are beautiful. I remember walking home from school and seeing this Renault (Alpine) in a dealership window and being awestruck. I feel the same way about so name of the cars you review. Thank you for continually walking me down one of the happiest memory lanes of my childhood. PS. Living in the US and owning 5 Alfa Spiders (in varying states of repair) I love your commitment to Italian pronunciation!! Italy 🇮🇹 Ciao

My mate bought one in the early 2000's. I had the pleasure of driving it on a number of occasions as I had an Esprit so we would just swap cars every now and then and the handling on GTA was just as good as the Esprit. I still remember the quirky wiper sweep and the little LCD display on the dashboard that didn't work so you had to guess how much fuel you had left....😂.... He did sort that in the end to be fair....😉

Being in the US, I've never even seen one. I hope to just see one some day. Very interesting. We got the Delorean here witch is kind of the same thing. Thank you.

Yay !, amazing cars. I used to have a GTA 2.5 V6 Turbo, slightly tuned to about 220bhp. Given the light weight it was really fast with superb handling.

Thanks for the video mate,I wanted one of these in that colour with black leather but the wife wouldn’t let me as we had to put a child seat in the back.Got a 25 V6 turbo with a straight through fat pipe and it was exactly as you describe loads of lag then whoosh up to red line 😊

Thanks for the history lesson. Always loved the look of these cars.

There is one of these laying on a garage forecourt in Dumfries South West Scotland. It’s deteriorating fast and needs somebody to rescue it.

wow! I missed this one in the 80's. There is a NA GTA for sale in Australia for $18k plus. Thanks again Jack. Another great video of a car that is very interesting.

I'm excited to see this video, given I just saw my very first Renault Alpine on Saturday.

I couldn't help but notice the non working speedometer. Very familiar unfortunately and a pain to fix. Also the questionable quality of the interior parts in general is something I agree with. But I love it, it drives really nicely. I have a GTA with a 3.0l NA v6 200hp(from later Renault) swap in it (with an exhaust) at my disposal and it's a real experience. Its the engine it should have had. The original NA 2.8l unit with carburettor isn't the best and its not easy to get it to run just right. This Turbo GTA is already a big improvement. Towards the end the comparison is made between the GTA and the 911, that's valid since the configuration is very similar, but really the GTA was aimed more at the 944. I haven't driven a 944 so I wouldn't know but I reckon the transaxle layout makes for a more forgiving and easier to ride car. The GTA is not a car you want to ride carelessly and it takes some experience to get the best performance out of it. And probably the 944 has some better quality materials and interior to suit. But it should really be enjoyed on its own. It is a very rare and fun car to own and drive.

One of my favorite car of all time! Thanks for this superior review! These old Alpines are sublime, I adore them much better than the overrated Porsches...... Please test a Volvo 480 Turbo as well! :))

Love your reviews

Wow !! Learned a lot from this video. Very interesting car. Thank you.

Great to see this car featured. I owned two back in the day.

I've always really liked this car. Thanks for the review.

Silly solution but the turbo lag could possibly be slightly mitigated by having a smaller turbo? You might lose some power at the top end as result of downsizing but the acceleration and throttle response will be there. Not that it makes much sense to downsize anyway as this car is built for the track. I love that spooling noise though! This car has won my heart!

a friend of mine had one and quite liked it, although he said it could be twitchy in the wet with the engine at the back. But he had a heck of a time trying to sell it and eventually took much less for it than he hoped. Nowdays he has ... a late 1970s 911.

One of the problems faced by the GTA was the Ford Capri V6 2.8i/280, which offered similar performance to the non-turbo GTA and more practicality for a much lower price. And was great fun to drive and cheap to maintain.

Hello Jack, Great to see a French super car on your channel. Certainly a car ahead of it's time! How about a video on the Venturi Atlantique? Very rare in the uk yet, very understated. Great channel by the way.

Stunning - always loved it

My extra firm High School French teacher would approve your effort. Not sure why or even when I saw my 1st but I have been an Alpine fan for decades. I have 2 RC cars with Alpine A110 bodies and will continue to enjoy those.

I like the B-pillar camera addition.

I remember standing at a bus stop aged 11-12 when these were brand new Someone local had one and I loved it Most people were driving around in square boxes like the mk4 cortina

Thank you for this video! Fun facts about this car: 1. It was driven by the main antagonist in El Dorado! 2. They had an awesome Desert Raid buggy version!

Gave it a LIKE 2 seconds into the video. Thanks for making it!

A very cool car for not a ton of money that still is enjoyable to drive. This would get a lot of attention at a car meet. Thanks for sharing!

I’ve always thought they were INCREDIBLY cool. Does Greg have a channel? I’d love to see it on track day.