Any Alpine A110 Works rally car is a very special thing, but few have a story to match this car that competed in period. Rediscovered in a shipping container in Africa decades after a terrible accident during the 1970s, it has undergone a full restoration back to its original specification after years of research and hard work. It will be offered at Historics’ Ascot auction on 14 September, where it’s expected to sell for £160,000-180,000.
It is currently owned by Murray Lewis, who’s passion and personal connection to this car are key to its story. His interest in the A110 began in 1973 at the RAC Rally in Sutton Park. A young Murray – attending the rally with his father – was captivated by the sight and sound of a works Alpine A110 1800. This experience sparked a lifelong fascination with motorsport, though he didn’t realise how deeply it would shape his future.
Murray pursued motor racing: ‘I had two Lotus Cortinas off Roger, from dad. I rallied one, day-night stages tarmac events. I grew up in dad’s Business in Wednesbury and at 14 I had a mk1 Healey 3000, then the Cortinas. Lucky for a 17-year-old, all these toys… Nothing was ever said about a Renault Alpine.’
Murray began restoring the car, piecing together its history. It turned out to be a significant and missing vehicle from the 1970s Alpine competition team – a car that had participated in major rallies, including the East African Safari.
Murray’s father passed away in 1978. In 2007 Murray’s brother Anton, who was handling their late mother’s estate, discovered an unexpected plot of land in Africa. When Murray and his siblings investigated, they were stunned to find a shipping container buried in mud and hidden among overgrown vegetation. Inside it was a crashed Alpine A110 in the French tricolour colours, alongside old Jaguars and other car parts. This hidden treasure was taken back to Murray’s garage in Willenhall.
After stripping it, the body was taken by Murray to one of his Dad’s old friends in eastern France to be restored. Murray recalls: ‘Pierre told me through his son, “Murray, it’s special”. The lightness of the shell, the colours it was in, he told me to be careful…’
Murray began restoring the car, piecing together its history. It turned out to be a significant and missing vehicle from the 1970s Alpine competition team – a car that had participated in major rallies, including the East African Safari. Driven by Jean-Luc Thérier in the 1973 Tour de Corse, where it finished third, it later became a recce car for Jean-Pierre Nicolas in the 1975 East African Safari Rally. A tragic crash during a reconnaissance run in Nairobi had left the car abandoned and eventually sold, landing in the container that Murray and his family would uncover decades later.
As Murray worked on the car, he was approached by Roy Smith, a historian who had been searching for this specific Alpine for 30 years. Smith identified the car as chassis 18384, a legendary vehicle that had mysteriously disappeared in 1975. Smith urged Murray to preserve the car’s original state, highlighting its unique heritage and significant role in rallying history.
Murray’s restoration journey led to connections with various figures in the rallying community, including former Alpine drivers and mechanics who shared stories about the car’s past. He learned of the car’s troubled history in Africa, including its engine and gearbox removal at a Caltex Service Station in Nairobi before it was sold off in damaged condition.
The discovery that the car had been originally intended as a gift from his late father deepened Murray’s connection to the Berlinette. His father, a well-connected figure in motorsports, had planned to surprise Murray with the car, but his untimely death left the plan unfulfilled and the car forgotten.
Today, the Alpine A110 Berlinette stands not just as a remarkable piece of rally history, but also as a personal legacy for Murray Lewis – a symbol of lost opportunities, family connections, and the enduring spirit of a car that refused to be forgotten.
Find out more info about the car and see the auction listing here.
