It is not as well-known as the Mille Miglia, but it is legendary and has contributed to the fame of brands such as Austin-Healey, Jaguar, Panhard, Sunbeam, Mini and Renault-Alpine: the French Alpine Rally, called the "Coupe des Alpes" by the organizers. The British simply call it the "Alpine Rally".
In contrast to the Mille or the Targa Florio, which have been immortalized in literature several times, there has been no complete work dealing exclusively with this French Alpine rally.
Martin Pfundner, a well-known Austrian motorsport historian, has now filled this gap and has produced a standard work, sensibly written in English. The foreword was written by one of the Coupe des Alpes triumphants, Stirling Moss.
Along the timeline
Pfundner starts without much preamble with the early staging of similar events in the years 1910 to 1936, before immediately moving on to the first genuine French Alpine Rally in 1932 and the subsequent events up to 1939.
For each year, the circumstances and the results, but also the most important events are recounted with pictures, which also include route profiles, if available, or illustrations of special stages.
The author retains this structure for the post-war years, which sees the ninth edition in 1946. Two to four pages are usually devoted to each year, and new teams and drivers are introduced. These stories lead up to 1971 and it is clear that the rally has changed significantly over the many decades, from a pure reliability competition to a veritable high-speed race in the most difficult alpine environment. The countries involved were also subject to constant change, with Switzerland sometimes being part of the mostly very long route, Italy just as much, and France of course always.
Regulations and special features
Along the individual "Coupe des Alpes", Pfundner repeatedly explains the rule changes that were introduced due to the environment, but also to distribute the chances differently. When the classes were divided according to purchase price, you can't help but smile.
However, the participants always drove on public roads and in registered vehicles, even if it was a fast Berlinetta (Alpiine A 110) or a rally-proven Lancia Fulvia.
Forgotten vehicles and masters at the wheel
Over the decades, you come across cars and drivers that you will certainly always remember, such as Alpine-Renault, Porsche 911, Ford Escort or Citroën DS. At the wheel you would find such well-known people as Stirling Moss, Jean Pierre Nicolas, Bernard Darniche, Ove Andersson, Rauno Aaltonen, Vic Elford, Paddy Hopkirk, Eugen Böhringer, Jean Rédélé, Ian Appleyard, Alex von Falkenhausen, etc., to name just a few examples. But of course there was also the group of now-forgotten cars, including many of the makes that were at some point at the start of the rally, such as Adler, Allard, Berliet, Delahaye, Denzel, Gatford, Hotchkiss, HRG, Matford, Panhard, Simca, Studebaker, and so on. There were, of course, many French brands, but the British also attached great importance to the Coupe des Alpes. And of course the German manufacturers didn't want to stand on the sidelines either, even the Porsche 904 GTS took part several times!
Lots of black and white and some color
The scope and variety of the illustrations are more than impressive, given that the most recent event took place almost 45 years ago. I would have liked to have seen some of the pictures much larger, but then this book would have been much thicker and probably also much more expensive. However, at 49.00 euros, it can almost be seen as a bargain when you compare the scope of the research and the rare images with the price.
It goes without saying that most of the pictures are in black and white, but the author also includes color posters, emblems and painted racing illustrations in a review chapter - wonderful!
Extensive collection of results
While the first 120 pages were already a veritable treasure trove of valuable information, the last third is even more exciting, as the complete results lists of all events are neatly tabulated. The rank, start number, crew, their nationality and the vehicle with result details can be found there. The cars that did not finish are also included, a delight for anyone researching the history of a driver or a car.
And there is also a keyword index, something that is unfortunately all too often missing, but here, despite the total length of only 192 pages, it has been completely and practically integrated at the end.
So if you are interested in historic rally sport and would like to fill the gap left by the Coupe des Alpes, Martin Pfundner has finally given you the opportunity.
Bibliographical information
- Title: The Rise and Fall of the French Alpine Rally
- Author: Martin Pfundner
- Language: English
- Publisher: Brüder Hollinek & Co GmbH
- Edition: 1st edition, November 2015
- Format: Hardcover
- Size: 192 pages, 29.7 x 23.0 cm, many illustrations
- ISBN: 978-3851193619
- Price: Euro 49.00
- Buy/order: Online at amazon.de, online at the publisher or in relevant bookstores
