Sixty years after its first entry in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Alpine has unveiled the A424_β, foreshadowing its challenger in the premier class of the FIA Endurance World Championship.
With its design, the Alpine A424_β reaffirms the brand’s DNA while heralding its future.
Its name, A424_β, is a symbol of this: the A nomenclature followed by three digits beginning with 4; respects the tradition of our victorious endurance cars, 24 echoes the 24 Hours of Le Mans and 2024, and β designates its final stage before its launch.
The A424_β is the quintessence of Alpine’s automotive and racing artistry, both aesthetically and technically.
Rich in creativity, it presages Alpine’s future lighting signature on an incredibly racy and assertive front end, while the rear reveals two exceptionally impactful A-arrows.
The triangular motif, echoing the Alpine snowflakes, also appears in the treatment of the daggerboards and rear wing.
In the cockpit, the drivers will take their place at the heart of a body that has been refined, purified and polished, like a road-going supercar.
The flanks are inspired by Alpenglow, the concept car setting out Alpine’s ambitions by embodying the fascinating future of the brand’s production and competition models.
THE LMDh CATEGORY
Unveiled on 20 January 2020 before the 24 Hours of Daytona, the LMDh category reunites racing cars designed to compete in the FIA World Endurance Championship and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in the United States.
Together with the LMHs, the LMDhs form the Hypercar elite category in the FIA WEC and the GTP class in IMSA. These prototypes enable drivers, teams and constructors to compete with the same cars on the world’s best circuits and in Endurance racing.
LMDhs must be based on one of the four chassis accepted in LMP2. Competitors fit them with an engine of their choice and a common 50 kW hybrid system. To guarantee the competitiveness of all the cars, the ACO, the FIA and IMSA have defined several principles, including an aerodynamic performance window, a minimum weight of 1,030 kg and a power output of 500 kW.
The bodywork, however, can adopt the styling cues of the standard production vehicles of the brand whose interests they are defending, hence the unrivalled style of the Alpine A424_β.
All in all, a challenge full of opportunities that Alpine couldn’t pass up to fulfil its ambitions!
AMBITIONS
Although the Alpine A424 will make its racing debut in 2024, 2023 is a crucial year in the development of this prototype before it challenges the many prestigious constructors entered in the premier class of Endurance racing.
By revealing Alpenglow and A290_β, Alpine revealed its vision of the future. That future is now clearly reflected in the A424_β, designed to reaffirm the brand’s ambitions in a discipline in which it has enjoyed tremendous success. With this new project, the Alpine teams have two goals: to keep extending their track record and to attract new customers.
The centenary edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans – the most famous Endurance race in the world – will be one of the must-see events for all motorsport fans. Alpine has therefore chosen this ideal moment to position itself against the other brands already competing in the Hypercar category by unveiling its ambitions.
Designed at Viry-Châtillon, this prototype benefits from the expertise of the best elements in areas crucial to performance: energy management, engine integration, dynamic operation, and other essential success factors.
The Alpine A424_β will be firstly run by Signatech, a long-standing partner of the A-arrow brand since 2013.
A partnership with a prolific track record, thanks to the excellent operational capabilities of Philippe Sinault’s men. Alpine will also be looking to attract other teams alongside its factory Hypercar team so that it can compete on several fronts, including across the Atlantic in IMSA.
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