Alpine conducted testing for their upcoming A424 Hypercar which is set to part in the FIA World Endurance Championship next year. See our coverage of their second major track test, and an expanded gallery from Motorland Aragon below.

All images courtesy of © DPPI

Alpine and the Signatech teams completed 1500 km across two days of testing last week at Motorland Aragon, focusing on in-depth work with the mechanical and aerodynamic setup of the A424.

After the first major test outing for the Alpine A424 LMDh at Le Castellet, the second followed at Motorland Aragon on Wednesday 27 September to Thursday 28 September.

As the homologation phase approaches, this test consisted of long and shorter runs for the A424 Hypercar, which utilises an Oreca chassis and a modified Mecachrome V6 turbo powertrain paired with the LMDh specification MGU electric system from Bosch.

On the first day, 758 km was completed in the hands of current Alpine driver, Nicolas Lapierre, involving two 36-lap runs.

He gave the engineers the opportunity to adjust the ride height in order to optimise aerodynamics.

Bruno Famin, Vice-President of Alpine Motorsports, said: “The work of the various teams involved in this A424 project continues to progress, and a genuine osmosis is developing between the different actors involved, which is really pleasing.

“It’s been an intense two days. All the shakedown stages are now behind us, and we’ve got down to the nitty-gritty at Aragon, with the fine-tuning of the car’s different systems and the aero work.

“Things are moving in the right direction, but we’re only at the beginning of the process, and there’s still a tremendous amount to do in all areas.
We’re focusing on the upcoming phases, specifically the first endurance test and preparations for homologation.”

On the 2024 World Endurance Championship-spec Michelin tyres, the attention was on long, double-stint runs which gave the team information about the longevity of the tyres, as well as how they impacted the thermal behaviour underneath the bonnet.

Meanwhile the shorter runs gave focus on the aerodynamic balance, weight distribution and the hybrid system deployment, with this being the first hybrid powertrain the Signatech outfit will face with its 10 years of experience in the WEC.

Philippe Sinault, Alpine Endurance Team Principal, added: “The tests went well. The positives from the tests at Circuit Paul Ricard were confirmed at Motorland and the car continued to display a healthy behaviour.

“It was a pivotal stage in the programme because, after completing the shakedown tasks, we started to get all the car’s elements to work together: the hybrid system, engine and chassis.

“Matthieu [Vaxiviere] and Nico put in a series of stints over more than 1,500 km, sometimes even double stints, with no reliability issues, so it was quite satisfying and constructive.

“During this stage, we could really begin our operating role, with a particular emphasis on understanding the car and getting the right setups.

“The smooth running of the team was palpable on the human side, which genuinely encouraged discussions ahead of the big challenge ahead.

“We still have a lot of work ahead of us, but we’re on the right track.”

Testing will continue at Jerez on 17-19 October, before undertaking its first endurance test session on their return to Aragon from 14-16 November.

In advance of the endurance test, and the much anticipated homologation deadline, the A424 will return to Viry-Châtillon where engineers will continue to fine-tune their Hypercar on duties like the engine fire-up, and to analyse the electrical components.

Keep an eye out on Motorsport Week for an expanded gallery from the Alpine A424 test at Motorland Aragon!

Alpine has completed the first on-track test for the Alpine A424 Hypercar at Circuit Paul Ricard, the first of four testing venues in the upcoming months.

The first circuit laps were turned for the Alpine A424, which was unveiled at Le Mans as the French marque’s entry into the 2024 World Endurance Championship, and the Hypercar category.

At the beginning of August, current Alpine Elf Endurance driver Nicolas Lapierre drove an initial low-speed run in a shakedown session.

Their time at Le Castellet began similarly with a shakedown on Monday 21 August at the airport in order to check the safety functions were operational.

On the next day, more prominent work took place with a series of short runs which assessed the gearbox, brakes and cooling system, amid a notable heatwave in France.

The Mecachrome-derived single-turbocharged 3.4 litre V6 was given attention regarding engine mapping.

Bruno Famin, Vice President of Alpine Motorsports, said: “This first session is the culmination of months of work by the Alpine Racing teams and our partners. Our initial assessment is satisfactory, with a fairly high mileage that has enabled us to conduct our programme step by step.

“In these early stages of development, the priorities are to validate the fundamental systems and work on reliability whilst beginning to fine-tune the prototype.

“The drivers were fairly happy with the car, although there were some difficult points, which we are already working on in preparation for the next tests.

“But we have to be realistic: the work has only just begun. We still have a huge amount of work to do in an extremely short timespan before our first race.”

Furthermore, in the afternoon of Wednesday 23 August, a continued focus on software and mapping carried over from the previous day.

On Thursday, their final day of testing at Le Castellet, there was a focus on longer track runs for the A424.

It covered just over 1000 km in total, marking a productive, incident-free outing as the team began to gather useful data.

Three active Alpine-Signatech Endurance drivers drove across the week: Nicolas Lapierre (Monday and Tuesday), Matthieu Vaxiviere (Wednesday and Thursday) and Charles Milesi (Thursday).

Philippe Sinault, Alpine Elf Endurance Team Principal, added:

“For the first time in our history, we have the opportunity to be involved in such a large-scale project right from the start.

“Seeing the A424 take to the track for the first time was a real thrill.

“This project also brings its share of challenges, as the Alpine Racing teams and our own are working together to get the most out of the Alpine A424.

“The first overall impression is rather positive, and the absence of blocking problems since the first laps has enabled us to get to know the car fairly quickly. Our knowledge of the car will grow as the development tests continue.

“The next six months will certainly be intense until our first race in Qatar, but everyone in the team is more than motivated to rise to the challenge.”

The next test session for the Alpine A424 will take place next month at Circuit Motorland Aragon, Spain.

Alpine has confirmed the shakedown of its A424 Hypercar will take place during early August, after it was unveiled at the centenary Le Mans in June.

The French manufacturer shared details of their Le Mans Daytona Hypercar nearly two months ago at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

A 3.4L single-turbo V6 Mecachrome engine has been tested through several dyno tests over the past few months and is nearing its final configuration.

The powertrain was first fired up on Wednesday 5th July, and will pair with the specification hybrid technology and gearbox seen in all LMDh cars.

Having recently arrived at Oreca’s workshops, it will soon be fitted into the first A424 chassis for a maiden outing which will initially test the car’s systems.

Bruno Famin, Vice-President at Alpine Motorsports, said: “We are really looking forward to seeing the Alpine A424 on track for the first time.

“It will really come to life after months of hard work behind the scenes by the Alpine Racing teams alongside our partners.

“The programme is proceeding according to plan, with the first fire-up and our first simulator sessions.

“We are now entering a phase where the target is to understand our package so that we can fine-tune it, improve its reliability, optimise it in all areas and evaluate our different technical options.

“The steps we have already taken were only the first milestones, and the bulk of the work remains.

“The Alpine Racing and Signatech teams will use all their recognised skills to launch this development process over the summer and beyond.”

The Signatech outfit has run at every World Endurance Championship season since the 2012 inaugural campaign, utilising Oreca-based LMP2 machinery throughout, apart from when they ran a grandfathered-LMP1 package in the 2021 and 2022 season when the Hypercar class debuted. This too had been built by Oreca, and was the former Rebellion R13, rechristened the Alpine A480.

During the engine dyno tests, the Alpine Racing team has completed their first simulator sessions which honed onto the car’s simulated model, onboard software and tyres before conducting a realistic analysis of its preliminary settings in preparation for the first outing.

Throughout these testing sessions, areas such as configuration, data, telemetry and communications were examined.

Following the shakedown, a second outing will feature the bodywork in its initial configuration.

During the second half of the year, several tests will take place across a range of tracks on which to extract data from including Circuit Paul Ricard, Motorland Aragón, Jerez and Portimão.

Their debut in the 2024 WEC season, with two cars, will see them join the existing Hypercar competitors, and a single-entry debut from Lamborghini.

Alpine hasd unveiled its 2024 Hypercar, the A424_β, which will compete in the FIA World Endurance Championship and at the 24 Hours of Le Mans next year.

The car, built by Oreca and utilising the French company’s next-gen LMP2 chassis, is named the A424_β. The beta symbol is to signify that this is a test year for the car, with Alpine Endurance Team team principal confirming it will race next year as the Alpine A424.

The car will utilise a 3.4-litre V6 turbo engine developed jointly by Renault and Alpine engineers at Viry-Chattilon and Mecachrome, which Sinault confirmed was not related to the former Mecachrome engine which was used by Ginetta in LMP1. 

The car is due to be fired up on June 28th, with a shakedown to take place in late July. This will be followed by a test at Paul Ricard in August.

“Today we unveil the Alpine A424_β, the forerunner of our Hypercar designed to challenge the best competitors starting next year,” said Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi.

“True to our values, this new prototype takes the A-arrow brand into the future; while following in the footsteps of our creations, beginning with Alpenglow and the A290_β. The Alpine A424_β is racy, elegant and distinctive with its iconic and emblematic design.

“It embodies both our present and our future thanks to the involvement and investment of our designers in its development.”

The team, run by Signatech, as it has been since 2013, will enter a two-car Hypercar programme in WEC next year. The car aligns to the LMDh platform, and while Sinault says an LMH-rules car was considered, “for sure the option was considered, but quickly they [Alpine] took the option of LMDh,” he said.

One of the reasons for that decision was cost. 

“It [cost] was one of the reasons, but also for the technical environment. Because the chassis was already ready. And for customer racing, LMDh is better, I think,” said Sinault.