Alpine Alpenglow explores a hydrogen-powered future | GRR
Alpine has given us a glimpse of multiple possible futures for the French sportscar marque with a radical new concept. This is the Alpenglow, a race-inspired single-seat hypercar showing us what Alpine’s of the future will be influenced by style wise, with an experimental powertrain.
Wheels on the ground, it’s not too dissimilar in footprint to a Le Mans prototype and as such, its aesthetic shows part of what to expect from Dieppe’s fully bespoke LMH car, expected to race in 2024. There are nods to past Alpine racers too, with the swooping wings inspired by the A220 sports racer of the 1960s. Alpine describes the Alpenglow as having “a dream car’s proportions”.
In spite of the apparent wingless design, the Alpenglow does feature a clear width-spanning spoiler, controlling the air as it goes over and through the car. We wonder whether the LMH car will follow Peugeot and the influence of the Alpenglow in a semi-wingless approach. The concept very much uses the smooth clean bodywork to funnel air through it and out the elongated rear to generate much of its downforce.
Yet while the Vision Gran Turismo-esque single-seater design is certainly eye-catching, we’re most curious about the powertrain. It’s a hydrogen-powered machine, though there are no fuel cells to be found here. This is a hybridised combustion engine, that burns hydrogen instead of fossil fuels. There are no exact details of what the engine is and Alpine is giving no ground on its production intent for such a powertrain, but the mere exploration of it is a statement in itself.
“Alpine is looking into a technology that could prefigure the brand’s racing and roadgoing cars,” the marque’s statement reads. “A hybrid hydrogen internal-combustion engine is environmentally-friendly and comes with the inimitable driving pleasure that this technology provides, including the sheer might, weightlessness and enthralling soundscape. Combining hydrogen technology with technical expertise honed in the heat of motor sports competitions will give future vehicles the kind of performance that only racing cars can reach – while producing practically nothing besides steam and riveting engine roars.”
Alpine says the lightweight principles of the A110 continue here, while the arachnid-like suspension hardware can be seen in the imagery, reaching inward under the bodywork to the structure and doubling as aerodynamic devices, as they do on an F1 car.
For the moment, there is no hydrogen-combustion Alpine on the cards for the near future. Three EVs are set to make up the Alpine range with the first launching in 2025, with the A110 successor that’s being co-developed with Lotus being joined by a crossover and a sporty Alpine-badged version of the Renault 5 EV. We can hope that carbon neutral piston engines are at least an option for the future.