More than 50 years after having employed the first generation of Alpine A110, the rapid intervention brigade of the Gendarmerie would be on the point of adopting its distant descendant. While the rumor has been around for a long time, new corroborating information points to an impending announcement.
To replace the Mégane 3 RS of the Gendarmerie at the end of the race, the idea of the Alpine A110 has often been mentioned. After all, the first generation of this berlinetta had been one of the first mounts of the rapid intervention brigade (BRI), taking over from the Matra Djet 5S in 1967. As a bonus, this sports car had the merit of be made in France, in Dieppe (Seine-Maritime). Finally, to top it off, blue is the favorite color of the brand and the Gendarmerie! But the police had finally rather set their sights, at the end of 2020, on a Seat Leon Cupra, both more practical and much less expensive.
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36 copies of the upcoming berlinetta?
However, since then, the cards have been reshuffled, and the A110 seems closer than ever to join the ranks of the Army. The Lesalpinistes website announces that thirty-six copies (including two unmarked) have been ordered and that two of them have even been delivered. The transformation would be carried out, as often, at the bodybuilder Durisotti, in Sallaumines, near Lens (Pas-de-Calais). Of course, in the absence of any image and any official confirmation, all this remains to be taken with a grain of salt. But a member of the Worldscoop forum, often well informed, also evokes a press release for the first half of October. We could therefore have confirmation very soon.
Leon Cupra deliveries quickly stopped
Other elements give credit to this arrival of the Alpine sports car in the BRI. The choice of the Leon Cupra had, in fact, provoked controversy, and its deliveries had been interrupted prematurely. A new call for tenders was then issued, and it ended in July. It was above all the nationality of the model that was criticized. During most of its existence, the brigade has, in fact, favored French brands … even if we remember the precedent of the Subaru WRX or the Spanish manufacture of the Mégane RS.
Opting for the A110 would correct that. But as the arrival of hybrid models had also been mentioned, one would have thought that the Peugeot 508 PSE would have been preferred. Especially since it was also more practical to store the cumbersome equipment needed by the gendarmes. maybe the fear of ending up with an empty battery in the middle of a highway chase will have dissuaded the BRI from opting for this connected wagon, whose power sometimes lacks consistency …
Sources: Alpinists and Worldscoop
