French supercar prototype only has a 335 hp inline four, but that’ll be replaced by a hydrogen-sipping V6 later this year
1 hour ago
- Alpenglow Hy4 is a fully working hydrogen prototype based on Alpine’s 2022 concept.
- Debuts at Spa this weekend, where it will performance demonstration runs before reappearing at Le Mans in June.
- Rolling lab’s 335 hp inline four will be upgraded to a V6 for a second prototype that’ll be revealed later this year.
Alpine thinks hydrogen will play a major role in tomorrow’s car market and it’s turned its 2022 Alpenglow concept into a fully drivable Alpenglow Hy4 prototype to prove how serious it is about the fuel.
Now offering seating for two, instead of just one, the subtly reworked supercar will make its debut at the Spa 6 Hours this weekend, where it’ll run demonstration laps, before doing the same thing at Le Mans in June.
Related: Alpine Alpenglow Concept Debuts With Hydrogen Power, Shows Future Design Language
Despite what the hypercar styling and fancy carbon chassis might suggest, the Hy4 only makes 335 hp (340 PS) from a 2.0-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder engine, but Alpine says that’ll be upgraded to a V6 – again, fueled by hydrogen – when a second iteration of the prototype is revealed at the back end of the year.
Together with water injected to cut NOx emissions, H2 dihydrogen is squirted directly into the combustion chambers under 40 bar (580 ps) of pressure, from three tanks (one either side of the cockpit and one behind) where it’s held at 700 bar (10,150 psi).
The inline four spins to 7,000 rpm and Alpine says gives the Alpenglow performance equivalent to a petrol-powered car, including a 168 mph (270 kmh) top speed. Although this engine is adapted from an existing Renault/Alpine ICE motor to run on hydrogen, the coming V6 is being designed from scratch with hydrogen in mind.
Alpine says it’s focusing on hydrogen-fuelled combustion power rather than hydrogen fuel-cell electric tech because its specific power, reduced cooling requirements, and similarity in feel and sound to a petrol-chomping combustion engine make it a good bet for racing applications.
And though it doesn’t come right out and say it’s taking the Alpenglow racing, Alpine does say that it’s “paying close attention” to changes in racing regulations and reminds us that hydrogen cars will be legal at Le Mans from 2027, and that even F1 could switch to the fuel by 2031. Beyond that, it also hints that hydrogen could be a possible direction for road-going sports cars, which ties in with hints dropped by Renault Group CEO Luca de Meo last year suggesting Alpine was working on a hypercar.
