Engine reliability, the Achilles heel for Alpine in hypercars?

Alpine returns to the premier category of the FIA ​​World Endurance Championship this season with modest but realistic ambitions. Already present in the hypercar during the 2021 and 2022 campaigns, the brand with A Arrow lines up the A 480, in fact a rebadged Rebellion and powered by a 4.5-liter Gibson V8.

Now comes the elegant A424, based on the LMDh platform with a chassis supplied by Oreca, one of the four approved manufacturers alongside Dallara (which is equipped by BMW), Ligier (Lamborghini), and Multimatic (Porsche).

With Oreca already supplying Acura for its ARX-06, we can already bet that the French prototype will be in play in terms of aerodynamics, given Acura’s good performance in IMSA for more than a year.

The real question, however, lies under the main body of the A424. That concerns the 3.4L Mechachrome Turbo V6, especially its reliability. Used for many seasons in Formula 2, the block is not distinguished for its resistance in the antechamber of Formula 1.

Enough to give Philippe Cynault’s men a cold sweat as they tackle long races of 6, 8, 10 and 24 hours?

Not if we believe the words of Nicolas Lapierre, who will The team with Mathieu Vexivier and Mick Schumacher has the number 36 on the A524.

” A lot of work has been done to make the engine suitable for endurance competitions

assured the Frenchman during a recent WEC press briefing. The structure is the same but all internal components have been changed. And one of Alpine’s strengths is that we can rely on numerous test benches in Viry-Chatillon. (Also the engine section of the F1 program. Ed.).

I assure you the engine ran a lot on the dyno. We were able to complete 30 hours of race simulation. We are pretty quiet on the engine front. »

Last November, Alpine hoped to complete 5,400 km with its A424 during a 30-hour endurance test held at Spain’s Motorland Aragon circuit. The French hypercar only managed 5,027, mainly due to turbo problems, electrical issues and water and oil leaks.

If it’s better to show damage during testing, it’s unlikely to erase doubts about Alpine’s engine strength as the start of the 2024 WEC season approaches: 1812km from Qatar, scheduled for Saturday 2 March.

Also Read: Philippe Sinault (Alpine): “We must be humble, but ambitious”

Also read: Nicolas Lapierre (Alpine): “One thing is certain: the car is well-born”