Written by Hugh Waring, Edited by Yu Xin Wang
Image: Alpine Motorsport
Alpine has announced that it will unveil its highly anticipated LMDh (Le Mans Daytona hybrid) contender for the 2024 World Endurance Championship (WEC) Hypercar class at the upcoming Le Mans 24 Hours.
The car, named the Alpine A110 R Le Mans, will make its debut on June 7 at the Circuit de la Sarthe, coinciding with the centenary edition of the iconic endurance race.
The Alpine A110 R Le Mans will succeed the Alpine A480-Gibson, which competed in the WEC during the 2021-22 season before Alpine's temporary return to the LMP2 class with the Oreca 07 this year. Unlike its predecessor, the A110 R Le Mans will be the first Hypercar directly manufactured by Alpine. However, it will be based on Oreca's next-generation LMP2 chassis in accordance with the LMDh regulations.
Alpine has expressed its intention to field two cars in the WEC next year, further strengthening the Hypercar category alongside entries from Lamborghini and BMW. While specific details about the Alpine A110 R Le Mans are currently limited, Executive Director of Alpine, Bruno Famin, stated last year that the car will not utilize a Formula 1 engine as its powertrain base due to high costs. Instead, Alpine will combine a hybrid system from Bosch, Xtrac, and Williams Advanced Engineering with an internal combustion engine developed by Alpine.
The decision to delay the car's debut until the second year of the LMDh regulations was a strategic choice made by Alpine. The manufacturer initially announced its plans for a WEC program in October 2021 and will now join LMDh cars from Porsche, Cadillac, BMW, and Lamborghini, as well as LMH (Le Mans Hypercar) cars built by Toyota, Porsche, Ferrari, Glickenhaus, and Vanwall on the grid.
Alpine's focus in 2023 will be primarily on its Hypercar project, as its current LMP2 program serves as a temporary measure until the LMDh car is ready for competition in 2024. The LMP2 class itself will be discontinued in the WEC in 2024, although the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) has confirmed that 15 entries will be reserved for the class at Le Mans.
While the LMDh cars will also be eligible to race in the GTP (Grand Touring Prototype) class of the IMSA SportsCar Championship, Alpine has no plans to participate in the series. This decision aligns with the unified rules between the WEC and IMSA, aiming to enhance collaboration and competition between the two championships.
Notably, Alpine's last overall victory at the prestigious Le Mans 24 Hours dates back to 1978 when Jean-Pierre Jaussaud and Didier Pironi triumphed over the Martini Porsche 936s, in their V6-powered A442B. With the upcoming introduction of the Alpine A110 R Le Mans, the manufacturer seeks to reignite its historic success at the renowned endurance race and establish a strong presence in the Hypercar category of the World Endurance Championship.
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