Credit: Alpine
Alpine has confirmed the shakedown of its A424 Hypercar will run 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.”
Alpine A424 – Credit: Alpine
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 learn 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.
Keyword: Alpine Hypercar first shakedown set for early August