Confirmed: Renault to revive Alpine at Le Mans
Legendary French sports car name to be revived at spiritual homeRenault has confirmed it will revive its historic Alpine sports car brand at the 24 hours of Le Mans this weekend.
The official confirmation follows speculation the famed Alpine badge will appear on the front of a near-production ready mid-engined sports car ‘concept’ at Le Mans.
Rumours out of Europe suggest the upcoming road car will be named AS1 (for Alpine Sport 1) and share similarities with the A110-50 Concept car shown at the Monaco Grand Prix in 2012.
Assembly of the production version is expected to start in Renault’s Dieppe factory in 2016, with European deliveries from 2017.
A modified version of the 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol powerplant from the Renault Clio RS is expected to appear amidships, driving the rear wheels and relying on heavy use of carbon-fibre to keep weight down in the same vein as Alfa Romeo’s 4C coupe rival.
The link between Alpine, which celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2015, and La Sarthe runs deep, the turbocharged Alpine-Renault A442B seeing off the might of Porsche’s 935/78 to win the famous 24-hour enduro in 1978. Renault had earlier acquired the smaller French brand in 1974.
The Alpine coupe will be unveiled this Saturday at 1.35pm Le Mans time; less than two hours before the race start.
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