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.
 The No. 36 A424 being driven at the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans | |||||||||||
| Category | Le Mans Daytona h | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constructor | Alpine (Oreca) | ||||||||||
| Designer(s) | Raphaël Linari (Chief Exterior Designer)[1] Christophe Chapelain (Project Chief Engineer)[2] | ||||||||||
| Predecessor | Alpine A480 Renault Alpine A442 | ||||||||||
| Technical specifications | |||||||||||
| Chassis | LMP2-based carbon fibre monocoque with honeycomb shell | ||||||||||
| Suspension (front) | Double wishbones, pushrods with power steering | ||||||||||
| Suspension (rear) | Double wishbones, pushrods | ||||||||||
| Length | 5,000 mm (196.9 in) | ||||||||||
| Width | 1,998 mm (78.7 in) | ||||||||||
| Height | 1,058 mm (41.7 in) | ||||||||||
| Wheelbase | 3,148 mm (123.9 in) | ||||||||||
| Engine | Alpine V634 3.4 L (207 cu in) 90° V6 turbocharged mid-engine, longitudinally-mounted | ||||||||||
| Electric motor | Rear-mounted 50 kW (68 PS; 67 hp) spec MGU supplied by Bosch | ||||||||||
| Transmission | Xtrac P1359 7-speed sequential manual[3] | ||||||||||
| Power | 500 kW (680 PS; 671 hp) | ||||||||||
| Weight | 1,030 kg (2,271 lb) | ||||||||||
| Fuel | TotalEnergies | ||||||||||
| Lubricants | Elf | ||||||||||
| Brakes | AP Racing carbon with AP Racing Monobloc 6-piston calipers | ||||||||||
| Tyres | Michelin slicks with OZ one-piece forged alloys, 29/71-18 front and 34/71-18 rear | ||||||||||
| Competition history | |||||||||||
| Competition | FIA World Endurance Championship | ||||||||||
| Notable entrants |  Alpine Endurance Team | ||||||||||
| Notable drivers | |||||||||||
| Debut | 2024 Qatar 1812 km | ||||||||||
| Last event | 2024 8 Hours of Bahrain | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Background
editOn 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]
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A424_β show car on display at the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans
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Right-side view of the A424_β showcar at launch
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Frontal view of the A424_β showcar at launch
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Showroom view of the A424_β showcar at launch
Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results
edit(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 | ||
| 35 | 7 | 13 | 9 | Ret | 12 | 5 | 4 | |||||||
| 7 | 13 | 9 | Ret | 12 | 5 | 7 | 9 | |||||||
| 7 | Ret | 12 | 5 | 7 | 4 | |||||||||
| 13 | 9 | 7 | 4 | |||||||||||
| 36 | 11 | 16 | 12 | Ret | 10 | 9 | 3 | |||||||
| 11 | 16 | 12 | Ret | 10 | 9 | 3 | 9 | |||||||
| 11 | 16 | 12 | Ret | 10 | 9 | 3 | 9 |
References
edit- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ Staff (18 June 2023). "Alpine A424_β endurance racer revealed". Drive. Archived from the original on 13 July 2023. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "First Shakedown Imminent For Alpine A424 LMDh | dailysportscar.com". www.dailysportscar.com. Archived from the original on 1 August 2023. Retrieved 1 August 2023.