Jean Rédélé (17 May 1922,

Dieppe, Seine-Maritime Dieppe (; Norman: ''Dgieppe'') is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to N ...

– 10 August 2007

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

), was an automotive pioneer, pilot and founder of the French automotive brand

Alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National Pa ...

. With a HEC diploma, he was the youngest

Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufacture ...

dealer in France, with a dealership installed in Dieppe. Rédélé first started (1950) rallying

Dieppe Dieppe (; Norman: ''Dgieppe'') is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to N ...

- Rouen with a 4 CV, because he considered the small French car had a great rallying potential. This first race was a first victory, and he decided to continue. After a failed Monte Carlo Rally Rédelé started racing in the

French Alps The French Alps are the portions of the Alps mountain range that stand within France, located in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions. While some of the ranges of the French Alps are entirely in France, others, such as ...

. In the Alps he had his greatest victories. That's why his cars bore the brand "''Alpine''" as a memento of his first victory in the 1954

Coupe des Alpes The Alpine Rally, also known by its official name Coupe des Alpes, was a rally competition based in Marseille and held from 1932 to 1971. In the 1950s and the 1960s, it was among the most prestigious rallies in the world and featured an internat ...

. Jean Rédélé's first car was a 4CV coach, in 1952. Then the second special 4Cv spéciale "The Marquis" was presented at the New York car show in 1954, without posterity. He created the brand

on 1955. The first model is the A106 coach. The 106 is a reference to the power pack of the 4CV of the 1060 series. In 1971 Alpine won its first European title for European rallies. In 1973 Alpine was the first world champion of rallying with 155 points followed by Fiat (89) and Ford (76).

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20070910205202/http://www.alpine-renault.net/historique.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Redele, Jean 1922 births 2007 deaths Sportspeople from Dieppe, Seine-Maritime French rally drivers French founders of automobile manufacturers 24 Hours of Spa drivers Automotive businesspeople Sports car racing team owners Renault people World Rally Championship people