Alpine Reveals Mecachrome-Powered A424 Beta LMDh

Alpine has revealed its LMDh car that will debut in the FIA World Endurance Championship next year and confirmed that it will be powered by a Mecachrome V6 engine.

The Renault brand on Friday presented images and initial technical details of the Alpine A424 Beta which has been developed in conjunction with chassis partner ORECA.

Its powertrain will feature a 3.4-liter turbocharged V6 internal combustion engine connected to the spec LMDh hybrid system consisting of a Bosch electric motor, Williams Advanced Engineering battery and Xtrac gearbox.

Alpine’s long-time sports car racing partner Signatech will be the factory team for a Hypercar effort in the WEC next season.

The manufacturer also remains open to customer teams buying the car “so that it can compete on several fronts” including the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

“Today we unveil the Alpine A424 Beta, 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 Beta.

“The Alpine A424 Beta 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 choice of Mecachrome, which is a new engine supplier in LMDh, aligns with Alpine’s powertrain partnership in Formula 1.

The first fire-up of the complete car is scheduled for June 28 while the first rollout is set to take place in late July, ahead of further testing that will lead towards the A424 Beta’s homologation. Engine dyno testing has been taking place over the last six months.

“Mecachrome has experience in endurance racing and we conducted several studies and tests starting in June 2022,” said Alpine LMDh chief engineer Christophe Chapelain.

“It enabled us to analyze its advantages and disadvantages so that our teams of Formula 1 engineers could draw up specifications, define the architecture and calibrate it for the desired performance range.

“The engineers at Viry were very much involved, sharing their capabilities, resources and methods with us to improve power, reliability and materials.

“In simple terms, it’s a 3.4-liter single-turbo V6. We’ll be the only ones with this configuration.

“Lastly, it must be noted that the synergies with F1 are such that our LMDh software is strongly inspired by F1. The F1 cost cap also works in our favor, as it frees up dyno hours in addition to those available at Mecachrome.”

Alpine is returning to the top category of the WEC next year after a one-season hiatus.

It ran the ORECA-built Alpine A480 Gibson LMP1 car, which previously raced as a Rebellion R13, in the Hypercar class against LMH machinery in 2021 and 2022.

That grandfathering was not extended for another season this year so Alpine moved back to the LMP2 class, where it won the drivers’ titles in 2016 and 2018-19.

Alpine presented the A424 Beta on the 60th anniversary of its debut at Le Mans, which it won overall in 1978.

“This project has been a tremendous human adventure for nearly two years, promoting our ambitions beyond the racetrack,” said Rossi.

“Our staff and partners are working tirelessly to ensure that the car is a resounding success.

“It is already one visually, and we are working hard to ensure it will also be a sporting success from next year.”