Inside the Machine

April 16, 2015. Bernard Ollivier and I were standing in a dimly lit corridor at Renault Headquarters in Boulogne-Billancourt, waiting to go into the Executive Committee meeting that would decide the fate of Alpine. To say we were nervous would be an understatement. We knew that we had the best chance of resurrecting this French icon since its death in 1995. The level of expectation had been inexorably ramped up by the media and the various Alpine passionnés (enthusiasts).

And this was not a mere rubber-stamp presentation to get the Exec. Committee’s blessing. This really could go either way. We looked at each other and giggled nervously, like schoolboys before a tough exam. Then the door opened, the previous presenters filed out, we put on our game faces, and filed in. The future of Alpine would be decided in the next 45 minutes.