The Alpine A424[5] is an LMDh sports prototype racing car designed by Automobiles Alpine and built by Oreca to compete in the Le Mans Hypercar class in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

Background

On 5 October 2021, Alpine formally announced an entry into the FIA World Endurance Championship starting from the 2024 season, using an LMDh-compliant racing design.[6] It was also confirmed on the same day that Oreca was chosen as the chassis supplier for their LMDh contender.[7]

Alpine unveiled a prototype show car, named the A424_β (pronounced "A424 Beta"[8]), on 9 June 2023, at the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans. It was also announced that the car would use a hybrid powertrain, consisting of a Mecachrome-based V6 single turbocharged internal combustion engine and standardized hybrid drivetrain components provided by Williams Advanced Engineering, Bosch and Xtrac, and that Signatech would run two cars.[5][9]

The car is built on the "next generation" Oreca LMP2 chassis.[9] The A424's engine is said to be a "heavily modified" version of the Mecachrome V634 engine used in the FIA Formula 2 Championship; Alpine confirmed that the car's engine was unrelated to the engine briefly used in the Ginetta G60-LT-P1 LMP1 car in 2018. Dyno tests for the engine were completed on 28 June.[10] The car was first fired up on July 5. The program first completed 2 shakedown tests at Lurcy-Lévis at the end of August. The test programme then continued running at Circuit Paul Ricard, Motorland Aragón, Jerez and Portimão.[11][3][10]

Alpine unveiled their driver lineup for 2024 on 22 November 2023.[4]

  • A424_β show car on display at the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans
    A424_β show car on display at the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans
  • Right-side view of the A424_β showcar at launch
    Right-side view of the A424_β showcar at launch
  • Frontal view of the A424_β showcar at launch
    Frontal view of the A424_β showcar at launch
  • Showroom view of the A424_β showcar at launch
    Showroom view of the A424_β showcar at launch

Racing history

The car debuted at the opening round of the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship in Qatar, one of four new manufacturers joining the championship (the others being BMW,[note 1] Lamborghini, and Isotta Fraschini).[12] Two A424s were entered: the #35, driven by Paul-Loup Chatin, Ferdinand Habsburg, and Charles Milesi; and the #36, driven by Nicolas Lapierre, Mick Schumacher and Matthieu Vaxivière.[13]

The A424 placed best of the newcomers, with the #35 car finishing 7th, the only points-scoring finish of the new manufacturers.[12][14][15] After Habsburg was injured in a crash during testing, reserve driver Jules Gounon stood in for the next two rounds at Imola and Spa-Francorchamps.[16][17]

At the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans, both Alpine A424s suffered catastrophic turbo failures within the first six hours of the race, which forced them to retire, despite showing good pace.[18][19] Work on engine upgrades began immediately after, and were in place for the Lone Star Le Mans, where the #35 car finished 5th, Alpine's best result yet.[20][21] At the 6 Hours of Fuji, Alpine scored their first podium finish, where the #36 placed third.[22] Another good result at the final race of the season — fourth for the #35 at the 8 Hours of Bahrain — meant that the team finished fourth in the constructor's standings.[23]

Ahead of the 2025 WEC season, further updates to the car's engine were carried out,[24] and the driver line-ups for both cars were tweaked: Vaxivière and Lapierre were replaced with Frédéric Makowiecki, a former Porsche Hypercar driver, and Gounon, who was promoted from reserve to full-season driver.[25][26]

Racing results

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

(key) Races in bold indicates pole position. Races in italics indicates fastest lap.

Year Entrants Class Drivers No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Points Pos
2024 Alpine Endurance Team Hypercar QAT IMO SPA LMN SAP COA FUJ BHR 70 4th
France Paul-Loup Chatin 35 7 13 9 Ret 12 5 4
France Charles Milesi 7 13 9 Ret 12 5 7 9
Austria Ferdinand Habsburg 7 Ret 12 5 7 4
France Jules Gounon 13 9 7 4
France Nicolas Lapierre 36 11 16 12 Ret 10 9 3
Germany Mick Schumacher 11 16 12 Ret 10 9 3 9
France Matthieu Vaxivière 11 16 12 Ret 10 9 3 9

Notes

  1. ^ BMW had already raced for one year in the IMSA SportsCar Championship prior to joining the WEC.[12]

References

  1. ^ Taylor, James (18 June 2023). "Alpine A424 Le Mans hypercar makes public debut". Evo. Archived from the original on 13 July 2023. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  2. ^ "Christophe Chapelain (Alpine A424): "The best LMDh while anticipating future BoP changes"". en.endurance-info.com/. 18 June 2023. Archived from the original on 13 July 2023. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  3. ^ a b Chilton, Chris (9 June 2023). "671-HP Alpine A424_β Hypercar Is On Track For Le Mans 2024". Carscoops. Archived from the original on 9 June 2023. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g "Schumacher: A new chapter beginning for me with Alpine". Grand Prix 247. 22 November 2023. Archived from the original on 22 November 2023. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  5. ^ a b Oakley, Phil (9 June 2023). "Alpine launches 2024 Hypercar, the A424_β, at Le Mans". Motorsportweek. Archived from the original on 13 July 2023. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  6. ^ Baldwin, Alan (6 October 2021). "Renault's Alpine announces new endurance entry from 2024". Reuters. Archived from the original on 13 July 2023. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  7. ^ "Alpine chooses an ORECA chassis to compete in LMDh starting in 2024". Oreca. 6 October 2021. Archived from the original on 13 July 2023. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  8. ^ Staff (18 June 2023). "Alpine A424_β endurance racer revealed". Drive. Archived from the original on 13 July 2023. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  9. ^ a b Klein, Jamie (9 June 2023). "Alpine launches A424 Beta LMDh car for 2024 WEC campaign". Autosport. Archived from the original on 13 July 2023. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  10. ^ a b Oakley, Phil (16 June 2023). "New Alpine A424 Hypercar will use 'heavily modified' version of F2 engine". Motorsportweek. Archived from the original on 13 July 2023. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  11. ^ "First Shakedown Imminent For Alpine A424 LMDh | dailysportscar.com". www.dailysportscar.com. Archived from the original on 1 August 2023. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  12. ^ a b c Kilbey, Stephen (6 March 2024). "Qatar 1812KM, What Did We Learn?". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
  13. ^ Kilbey, Stephen (29 February 2024). "Qatar 1812KM: Hypercar Preview". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
  14. ^ "Sinault: Alpine Took Another "Step Forward" in A424 Debut". sportscar365.com. 3 March 2024. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  15. ^ Kilbey, Stephen (29 March 2024). "Cadillac Disqualified From Qatar 1812KM". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
  16. ^ "Habsburg Injured in Testing Crash; Could Miss Imola". sportscar365.com. 4 April 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  17. ^ "Gounon to Replace Habsburg for 6H Spa". sportscar365.com. 6 May 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  18. ^ Klein, Jamie (15 June 2024). "Alpine Laments "Cruel" Double DNF After Engine Failures – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
  19. ^ Klein, Jamie (8 January 2025). "Alpine Sees No Reason for LMDh Engine Overhaul – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
  20. ^ Klein, Jamie (23 July 2024). "Alpine Engine Updates "On the Way" After Le Mans Failures – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
  21. ^ Euwema, Davey (3 September 2024). "Alpine Buoyed by Engine Updates; First Top-Five for A424 – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
  22. ^ Klein, Jamie (15 September 2024). "Schumacher "Had a Lot of Fun" On Way to First Alpine Podium – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
  23. ^ Euwema, Davey (11 November 2024). "Milesi: Alpine 'Couldn't Have Hoped' for Fourth in First Season – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
  24. ^ Euwema, Davey (21 February 2025). "Alpine, Peugeot Confirm Evo Joker Usage – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
  25. ^ Goodwin, Graham (28 November 2024). "Alpine Make Changes For 2025 FIA WEC". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
  26. ^ Kilbey, Stephen (24 February 2025). "Sinault (Alpine): First A424 'Joker' Brings "Serenity"". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
Allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpine_A424
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