Bulgaralpine
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Bulgaralpine was a sports automobile produced in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, and the result of a collaboration between
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 ...
(a French automobile firm) and ETO ''Bulet'' (a Bulgarian export trade organisation). Production lasted for three years (1967–1969).


The beginnings

In the end of 1966 the founder of the French car company Alpine –
Jean Rédélé Jean Rédélé (17 May 1922, Dieppe, Seine-Maritime – 10 August 2007 Paris), was an automotive pioneer, pilot and founder of the French automotive brand Alpine. With a HEC diploma, he was the youngest Renault dealer in France, with a dealershi ...
– arrived in
Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...
, Bulgaria, having been invited by the ETO (export trade organisation) ''Bulet''. ''Bulet'' was the same Bulgarian firm that had, through cooperation with
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 ...
, already began the assembly of
Bulgarrenault Bulgarrenault (or Bulgar Renault) was an automobile produced in the city of Plovdiv, Bulgaria, and the result of a collaboration between Metalhim (a Bulgarian defence firm) and Bulet (a Bulgarian export trade organisation). Production lasted for f ...
, and now had the same intention regarding Alpine. While in Bulgaria, Rédélé was introduced to the famed Bulgarian car racer Iliya Chubrikov, who was given the opportunity to test-drive the
Alpine A110 The Alpine A110 is a sports car produced by French automobile manufacturer Alpine from 1963 to 1977. The car was styled as a " berlinette", which in the post-WWII era refers to a small enclosed two-door berline, better-known as a coupé. The ...
on the Circle Highway (at that time still in construction) around Sofia. Building on the good impressions made by his car, Rédélé made an attractive offer of cooperation to the Bulgarian side, and in early 1967 sent to Bulgaria several of his 1,000-cubic centimetres-displacement engines, two of which were installed into Bulgarrenault 8 bodies. Later that year, Iliya Chubrikov won first place in the Transbalkania rally. Shortly after that, Rédélé sent his engineering team to Bulgaria to prepare the assembly of ''Bulgaralpine'' and to train a Bulgarian team of automotive specialists. Iliya Chubrikov was hired by ETO ''Bulet'' in the capacity of a production manager for sports cars.


Initial production and racing

In order to manufacture the fiberglass bodies, Bulgaria licensed the manufacturing method for a payment of 8 million
French franc The franc (, ; sign: F or Fr), also commonly distinguished as the (FF), was a currency of France. Between 1360 and 1641, it was the name of coins worth 1 livre tournois and it remained in common parlance as a term for this amount of money. It w ...
s which secured the necessary machinery and tooling. The raw material for the manufacture of the fibreglass was initially imported from France, but later came from the GDR (East Germany) and
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
. The first several ''Bulgaralpines'' were assembled at the end of 1967 when the stunning sports car was an absolute hit in Europe and the United States, which of course gave a great deal of pride to Bulgaria. In 1968, two ''Bulgaralpine'' race cars, driven by the teams of Iliya and Nikola Chubrikov, and Atanas Taskov and Atanas Agura, took part in the Monte Carlo Rally for the very first time. For publicity purposes, ETO ''Bulet'' created an auto racing team of its own, composed by the brothers Chubrikov, the brothers Agura, Robert Kyurkchiev, Slavcho Georgiev and Atanas Taskov. The short-lived team nonetheless proved popular both in Bulgaria and abroad. All ''Bulgaralpine'' racecars were decommissioned after 1978 and never took part in another rally again.


The production run and the end

''Bulgaralpine'' was not intended for the mass consumer in Bulgaria, instead being aimed at sports clubs and racing teams. However, some well-to-do consumers, such as the well-known Bulgarian film director Vassil Mirchev, bought a ''Bulgaralpine'' for private use. In 1969, Mirchev attended the
Cannes film festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
, covering the distance between Sofia, Bulgaria, and
Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. T ...
, France, in 16 hours in his ''Bulgaralpine''. The price of ''Bulgaralpine'' in 1969 was 8,200 Bulgarian leva. The initial intentions were to produce one ''Bulgaralpine'' car per day, but even now it is difficult to say how many ''Bulgaralpines'' were built when production ended in 1969. Some sources state that only 60 cars were completed, others mention 120 (70 for sale in Bulgaria, and 50 - for export). The production manager and race car driver Iliya Chubrikov recalls about 100 completed cars, none of which were exported beyond Bulgaria's borders.


Links

2013-Renault - Inter Expo Center Sofia
{{Automotive industry in Bulgaria Defunct manufacturing companies of Bulgaria Car manufacturers of Bulgaria Sports car manufacturers Cars introduced in 1967 Economy of Plovdiv History of Plovdiv