Engaged in Formula 1 but also in Endurance in the WEC championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Renault group’s sports brand, Alpine, is taking up the challenge of Pikes Peak, the legendary American race. The firm presented an extreme A110 a few weeks before the event.
Alpine is definitely on all fronts in 2023! Engaged in Formula 1 but also in Endurance in the WEC championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Renault group’s sports brand will also soon unveil its first 100% electric vehicle via a concept prefiguring the future A290, a sort of extreme and sporty electric Renault 5 .
But it’s for other news that Alpine is making the buzz at the beginning of May with the confirmation of its participation in the next edition of Pikes Peak, the famous American hill climb won a few years ago, a record in bonus, by Sébastien Loeb and Peugeot. To meet the challenge, Alpine has revised its new look berlinetta! The A110 Pikes Peak, as it is called, has been transformed into a racing beast to take on the challenge of Pikes Peak and its 156 turns to the top of the Colorado peak.
Extremely pronounced splitters, deflectors on the ends of the bumper and an imposing rear wing are some of the key elements of this car, designed to generate downforce in the many turns and hairpins of the race. The car is also equipped with an engine of almost 500 horsepower and has undergone specific work on the weight to reduce its mass to only 950 kilograms! The weight-power ratio therefore promises to be explosive.
The teams from Alpine and Signatech, the Alpine Endurance partner team responsible for entering the blue prototypes at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (this year in the LMP2 category with two cars at the start) worked together to create a car more extreme than ever. with improved aerodynamics, a more powerful engine block and therefore a featherweight.
The car is equipped with an imposing rear spoiler, splitters and deflectors, as well as an intake inlet on the roof. The original proportions have been kept so that the car remains eligible for the Time Attack 1 category. There is also an original decoration which takes up the stars of the American flag on the roof, mixed with the blue-white-red made in France of Alpine.
The car will be driven by Raphaël Astier, already involved in hill climbs with Alpine. He will be responsible for testing in France before heading to Colorado Springs for the event in June 2023.