- Alpine has revealed a third Alpenglow supercar concept
- The concept features a hydrogen V-6 engine developed by F1 engineers
- Alpine plans to launch an electric supercar this decade
Hot on the heels of confirming plans to launch a supercar by the end of the decade, French performance marque Alpine used this week's 2024 Paris auto show to present a new version of its series of Alpenglow supercar concepts.
The latest, dubbed the Alpenglow Hy6, packs a newly developed twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V-6 engine designed to run on hydrogen—and capable of generating a total 730 hp.
Alpine's first Alpenglow concept debuted in 2022 and was originally developed to preview a new design language as well as gauge interest for a potential supercar to join Alpine's lineup. It was followed earlier this year by the Alpenglow Hy4 concept which used a 2.0-liter turbo-4 running on hydrogen, but only made about half the power of the new V-6 version.
The V-6 engine was developed by engineers at Alpine parent Renault's Viry-Châtillon motorsports skunkworks, who normally prepare the Renault power units that Alpine uses for its Formula 1 team. Renault is giving up on F1 power unit development at the end of 2025, but the Viry-Châtillon skunkworks will be retained as a hub for high-performance EV development, Renault said earlier this month.
Alpine Alpenglow Hy6 concept
Key details of the V-6 engine include a solid aluminum block with a dry sump, cast aluminum cylinder heads, overhead camshafts with four valves per cylinder, maximum revs of 9,000 rpm, and an Inconel exhaust system. The engine is mated to an Xtrac sequential transmission and spins the rear wheels only.
The hydrogen to power the engine is stored in three tanks, and is stored in a gaseous form. The tanks are located in the sidepods and behind the cabin and store the hydrogen at more than 10,000 psi. A pressure regulator reduces the pressure down to 2,900 psi before dropping it further to the pressure required for direct injection into the combustion chambers.
While Alpine describes the Alpenglow concepts as serving as rolling laboratories, some of the concepts' styling and technology may influence the Alpine supercar being developed by the same Viry-Châtillon engineers. The production-bound supercar will be an electric vehicle, but Alpine may still use the hydrogen engine in the world of motorsports. One potential avenue could be the 24 Hours of Le Mans, whose organizers are looking to introduce a class for cars running on hydrogen, tentatively scheduled for the 2028 race.
Alpine also used the Paris auto show to debut a hardcore A110 R that serves as a sendoff for the gas-powered A110, as well as an A390 Beta concept previewing a production A390 set to debut next year.
