Mexico is becoming quite the haven for lightweight sports cars. Over the years, we've seen numerous brands coming from the country introduce their respective models. But to say that classic sports cars->ke506 were foreign to Mexico is a little short-sighted. After all, one of the most famous sports cars of the 60's and 70's was the Renault->ke72 Denalpin, which can trace its roots to Mexico.
All that said, there appears to be serious intention coming from some businessmen in Mexico to build a new sports car, called the SST-77.
The renderings of the SST-77 pretty much give away what Mexican businessman, Miguel Jimenez, wants to do with this sports car. It's a re-imagined Alpine that was designed along the same veins of the original Alpine-110 with some pretty striking details, including the sweptback headlights, circular fog lights and those wide-open air intakes.
According to Autoblog Mexico, the SST-77 is being prepared to take the form of a lightweight sports car that will be made out of fiberglass, Kevlar and carbon fiber. On top of that, it will be built on a platform that will be created in Sahagun City, Mexico, which, incidentally is the same birthplace of the original Dinalpin. We're not sure if there's a rationale behind the decision to build the car in that location or it's plainly coincidence.
Either way, it'll be interesting to see how the SST-77 develops from here on out.
Click past the jump to read more about the original Renault Alpine-110, or as it was called in Mexico at the time, the Dinalpin
2013 Project SST-77 by Miguel Jimenez
- Make: Array
- Model: 2013 Project SST-77 by Miguel Jimenez
- Engine/Motor: V6
- Horsepower: 350
- Torque: 370
- [do not use] Vehicle Model: Array
Renault Dinalpin
The Renault Dinalpin is essentially the Mexican iteration of the original Alpine-110. Just like what you see these days with rebadged models, the Alpine-110 took different names back then, depending on the country. Brazil called it the Interlagos, while Bulgaria's name for it was Bulgaralpin. Hence, in Mexico, it was the Dinalpin.
At that time, the model achieved great success as a rally car and even boasted an aluminum-blocked Renault 16 TS engine that produced 125 horsepower at 6,000 rpm, which is good enough for the car to hit a top speed of 130.5 mph.