In the past Madrid International Classic Automobile Show, ClassicMadrid, there was a very special moment, one of those in which memories become the present, in a feeling that time does not exist. However, before my eyes was a story from more than fifty years ago, an important chapter of Spanish motoring in the first half of the seventies.
It was the Alpinche, the car created by the driver Estanislao Reverter in 1970. And, sitting next to the car, I talked with his son Luis Reverter who, with his stately and kind style, walked me through a story full of passion.
Reverter, “The Doctor” as he was nicknamed for his wisdom and knowledge, already had an important career as a pilot behind him when he created the Alpinche. A trajectory, a name not only nationally but also internationally. He was born on October 1, 1929 in Orense. Linked to the business world, among other activities, he had a Land Rover and Goggomobil dealership, not forgetting a car rental company with a fleet of Simca 1000s that he had acquired from his friend Eduardo Barreiros. A man of character, tireless, in reality a book would be needed to be able to cover his vital trajectory, spectacular not only as a manufacturer of projects and ideas, including his work as a deputy in the Constituent Parliament of 1977.
As a driver his career began in 1955, in a Fasa Renault Trophy and at the wheel of a 4/4, and it will last continuously for some twenty seasons of which are shown, making an extreme synthesis, his 54 absolute victories in rallies, circuits and mountain tests or twelve participations in the Monte-Carlo Rally. And enormous prestige both nationally and internationally: he was one of the pilots of the famous Italian team “Jolly Club”.
Throughout this career he got behind the wheel of very diverse cars: the aforementioned Renault 4/4; Fiat 1400, Dyna Panhard; Deutsche Bonnet Panhard; BMW 700, Gogomobil; Ford Cortina Lotus; Fiat Abarth 1000; Rover 3500; Simca 1000, Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA; Lancia Fulvia HF; Seat 124 Sport 1600; BMW 2002; Renault 8 Gordini; Porsche 911…
The birth of the REALPOR…
Precisely our story today, that of the Alpinche, starts from one of his 911s. Reverter had two Porsche 911 Rs. It should be noted that the “R” was a very special version of the “911” designed for racing. In short, in 1966, the engineer Rolf Wütherich conceived a very light 911 body in which he would mount the engine of the Porsche Carrera 6, a true sports-prototype. With 800 kilos and 210 CV, the weight/power ratio was spectacular.
Of the 911 R, apart from four prototypes, only nineteen units were made, of which fourteen were sold to private pilots: two of these were at the hands of Reverter.
Estanislao, despite having a strong character, was a true “Gentleman Driver” who did not hesitate to help his rivals (many were taught his effective system of notes for the stages) and also to encourage the academy of new Galician drivers. Thus, for the IV Orense International Rally, which he does not run as he is involved in its organization, he leaves his 911 R to José Pavón.
Unfortunately, in the Bajada del Rodicio section, it went off in a tight curve and collided with a parapet, destroying the vehicle.
Repair, in the Spain of the seventies, where the importation of parts was very complex and expensive, without forgetting that the 911 R was a very special car, it was extremely expensive. And Reverter has an idea: use the engine and other mechanical elements of the crashed car in an Alpine A 110-1300 body.
Under the rear hood, the Renault engine gave way to the flat 6-cylinder Porsche, originally from a 911 R
To measure the engine compartment, he used the other Porsche 911 R that he had sold to Humberto Rodríguez. Actually, he was doing a lot more than “putting” the Carrera 6 engine in an Alpine. It was hard and complex work. As a support for the flat six, he started from the cradle of an old Volkswagen Beetle. The chassis of the Alpine, type “beam” is transformed into a tubular that uses as part of it, the protection arch itself. There are “very Reverter” details inside: on the dashboard, built by his bodybuilder Luis, we find only three clocks: speedometer, rev counter and a third to control the temperature and oil pressure (key in a Porsche engine). Another curious detail are the pedals, taken from a Simca 1000, or the window frames that are, like the door openers, those of the 911 R.
The Alpinche, a 911 R engine, and a lot of work hidden under an Alpine A 110 body
first test
Its debut was scheduled for the 1971 Rías Bajas. A few days earlier in the Reverter workshop, a Land Rover dealer, it seems that someone threw a cigarette butt near a gasoline can and started a fire. Reverter was the only one who, with the help of a fire extinguisher, dared to fight the flames. He managed to extinguish it, saved the Alpinche, but suffered burns on his face. Even so, he takes the start of the Rallye covered in a yellow ointment, and depleted of faculties…, and finishes in third position.
That same year, 1971, he came third in the XIX Rally of Spain. The winner, Jean Pierre Nicolas, official Renault driver (his co-driver was Jean Todt), asked Reverter to let him test the Alpinche: when he got off he told him that he should think of a small series to sell, because it would be an unbeatable weapon. .
five evolutions
Talking about the Alpinche is, in reality, doing it in five different versions, not only due to aesthetic or aerodynamic changes, but also due to important technical variations.
The “all at the back” (engine and propulsion) are complicated, they are for “driving” and, with good hands, you can get a lot out of them. But the Alpinche was also very light and was pushed by the 220 hp Porsche engine: the task was very complicated.
There were many modifications including small side deflectors in front of the front wheel wings, or already in 1975 when a very square front was introduced in the latest version where the air that cooled the oil cooler also served to give more support to the front end. By the way, four large headlights (from the Land Rover 2000) were mounted, since it is said that Ladislao, because he sometimes used welding without many protections, did not have optimal night vision. This last change was as a consequence of the repair required by an accident in April 1975. Reverter accompanied by José Luis Sala in the Rallye Vasco Navarro was flying at a low level and with the gearbox blocked when landing he crashed into several parked cars. Lalao’s seat belt broke and he hit the steering wheel: injuries to his face, a cleft sternum and several broken ribs. After this accident, the front was rebuilt in the style of the Ligier of the Endurance Championship.
But let’s go back. In 1972 the Alpine’s front subframe was changed to one designed by Reverter himself, with totally original suspensions. Parts of the Alpine were also replaced throughout the seasons in which it competed: Porsche discs and brakes instead of those of the French model.
In 1975, the fifth and last evolution arrives, with the characteristic front
The tires was another issue where solutions were sought. If we see the restored car, it has its usual Targa but at the time tests were made with removable ones that had air containment problems and caused one of the Alpinche accidents.
Also during the time the car was in operation, the 911 R engine was replaced, following various breakdowns, going to a 2.4 and, after it broke in a Rallye de Asturias, to a 280 CV 2.7. With this power, the bearings broke and the solution came from Reverter and his mechanics: Land Rover spacers and splines…
the michelin key
One of the most important changes comes in 1973 when Reverter decides to mount Michelin TB5 tires. Rafael de Louis, head of the Bibendum brand’s competition department, is very involved in the work of the Orensen pilot, who was joined by a good friendship. Reverter himself will declare: “Thanks to the help of Michelin, the angles and camber of the suspensions were modified, the car improved allowing me to win the Rallye Rías Bajas again this year.”
the palmares
Two first places and a third in the Rías Bajas, second and third in the Rally of Spain; Luis de Baviera, first and third; City of Oviedo, today Princess of Asturias, first and third; International Bosch, second and third; 500 km from Alicante, third and fourth; seventh in the ’72 Firestone, third in that year’s Sherry; winner of the Rallye de los Pazos, the Subida a Almofrey, the Subida a Manzaneda…
Undoubtedly fast but delicate to drive, the Alpinche only obtained good results in the hands of Estanislao Reverter, since his pupils José Pavón and Beny Fernández, who used it on occasion, never managed to get it to the finish line, except Beny who won the Climb with him to La Estrada, in 1975. The latter declared not long ago that the car “was efficient in curved areas but delicate in fast areas” and these words, in the mouth of a driver of his stature and experience, make us think…
The state in which it was left after the accident almost half a century ago has required a complex restoration work
accident and reconstruction
Beny Fernández went off in the first section of the 1975 Sherry Rally and destroyed the car, which was no longer repaired since the following year’s regulations prevented competing prototypes in the Spanish Championship. And he remained thus cornered for years in a workshop where the REALPOR, an acronym for Reverter, Alpine and Porsche, as his creator baptized it, remained almost forgotten as a broken legend of Spanish motorsports.
Luis Reverter, together with the restored Alpinche in evolution version 4, in the past ClassicMadrid
Fortunately, the tremendous work of the sons of Estanislao Reverter (who died in February 1991) allowed the Foundation that bears the name of the Galician pilot to be launched, as well as, later, facing the complex process of restoration of the Alpinche, in its fourth and penultimate version, a complex and long process (carried out between 2015 and 2022) that has made it necessary to resort to personal testimonials, help from friends, acquaintances and fans, a search for graphic material, articles and notes, financing campaigns (at that several pilots have contributed) so that we can once again enjoy this Alpinche, in perfect working order, with the Orense orange color, and a blue and white band of the Galician flag that crosses the car longitudinally, without missing the shield of the Escudería Orense, a steering wheel with the sharpening wheel, symbol of the city. And all of this is also a symbol of an era of Spanish motoring.
Estanislao Reverter would be proud… “Well, since he was a perfectionist, he would always find a detail to improve”, his son Luis tells us…”.