Jean Rédélé (17 May 1922,

Dieppe, Seine-Maritime Dieppe (; ; or Old Norse ) is a coastal Communes of France, commune in the Seine-Maritime departments of France, department, Normandy (administrative region), Normandy, northern France. Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth ...

– 10 August 2007

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

), was an automotive pioneer, pilot and founder of the French automotive brand Alpine. With a HEC diploma, he was the youngest

Renault Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...

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

Dieppe Dieppe (; ; or Old Norse ) is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department, Normandy, northern France. Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to Newhaven in England ...

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

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 The Monte Carlo Rally or Rallye Monte-Carlo (officially Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo) is a rallying event organized each year by the Automobile Club de Monaco. From its inception in 1911 by Albert I, Prince of Monaco, Prince Albert I, the 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 a ...

. 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. 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 Alpine 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 Sports car racing team owners Renault people World Rally Championship people