Alpine will follow in the distinguished wheel tracks of Peugeot, Bentley, and Audi by taking on their greatest hillclimb event - Pikes Peak.
The famed mountain road, which towers 4,000 metres above Colorado, is home to one of motor racing's greatest events, the Pikes Peak International Hillclimb. The road ascends the peak in just 19.9km, with 156 corners, and the current record for the fastest climb lies with Volkswagen. Ex-Le Mans' racer Romain Dumas took the astonishing all-electric ID.R race car up the Pike in just 7 minutes 57.148 seconds.
One-off special A110
Well, Alpine fancies a slice of that mountainous pie, and the French sports car brand is prepping a special car to take on the rigours of the Pike. Say hello to the (imaginatively named) A110 Pikes Peak.
The A110 Pikes Peak has been jointly created by Alpine and racing team Signatech, which also runs Alpine's Le Mans and World Endurance Championship entries. According to Signatech's Lionel Chevalier (the team's technical director) and François Letort (the project manager), the A110 has "been converted into a formidable racing machine". It is now "the most extreme A110 to date." Consider us intrigued...
Up front, the A110 Pikes Peak gets a massive front splitter (don't try taking it into a car park...) with extended flaps at each end to help channel downforce-giving air up and over the bodywork. There's also an enormous rear wing, split into two sections, and a large Le Mans-style dorsal fin for stability (it gets fierce windy up the Peak, y'know). There's a massive rear diffuser and an inlet mounted to the roof to force air into the turbocharged engine.
Raphaël Astier will drive
The 2022 FIA R-GT Cup winner with the A110 Rally, Raphaël Astier, will test the car first and then fly out with the team to Colorado. Astier has participated in the famed hillclimb four times, so he knows his way to the top of the Peak.
Raphaël Linari, Alpine Chief Designer, said: "The A110 Pikes Peak brings out the wildest side of this iconic car. It is agile and light by design, but with its specific aerodynamics and extreme proportions, it has become a genuine racing beast. This legendary event was an endless source of inspiration to push our creativity and enhance the A110 while integrating the constraints associated with performance. This project was completed in a decidedly short timeframe, thanks to the close collaboration with Signatech's technical teams. We look forward to seeing our creation challenge the American powerhouses on their home turf. I want to thank Jun Okazaki and Victor Sfiazof, the two designers who worked with me on the design of this car. Not to mention the great collaboration with the Signatech team, who are as skilled as they are passionate.
'Far beyond anything'
François Letort, Alpine A110 Pikes Peak Project Manager, said: "The Alpine A110 Pikes Peak pushes the boundaries of our imagination, far beyond anything we could have envisioned in the early stages of the project. It was a pleasure to work with the Alpine design office, with whom we quickly moved in the same direction thanks to our in-house expertise and ability to be incredibly responsive. Our core business lies in this strength and we could also rely on a network of local suppliers and subcontractors who were attentive to our needs. The first two testing days went really smoothly. The Alpine A110 Pikes Peak met all its initial targets, which is a remarkable feat in such a short time. We are thus proud to unveil a spectacular model, both visually and in terms of its performance. All of us look forward to the legendary challenge that awaits us!"
The Pikes Peak International Hillclimb takes place on the 25th of June.