Alpine's hypercar concept with hydrogen engine at Spa

Alpine will take to the Spa-Francorchamps race track in Belgium with the Alpenglot hypercar concept, first unveiled at the 2022 Paris Motor Show.

The run is scheduled for May 11 and will coincide with the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, the third race of the 2024 World Endurance Championship. According to Alpine, the Alpenglow's design has evolved since its debut in 2022.

The Alpenglow was presented as the unveiling of a new design language for Alpine's future lineup, but it was also a showcase for an internal combustion engine designed to burn hydrogen. Unlike gasoline, hydrogen does not emit carbon when burned. It does emit harmful nitrogen oxides, but there are ways to minimize this, such as using the urea-based selective catalytic reduction found in diesel engines.

Because it emits no carbon, some automakers and motorsports organizations are turning to hydrogen to keep internal combustion engines viable in a world with zero carbon emissions. Another solution aimed at saving the internal combustion engine is the use of carbon-neutral e-fuels. These fuels are produced by combining hydrogen with CO2 taken from the air

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Formula 1 plans to introduce e-fuel as early as 2026. In addition, ACO, organizer of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, hopes to introduce a class of hydrogen-powered racing cars by the same date.

Last year, the ACO unveiled its "MissionH24" hydrogen-electric car concept with an electric drive system powered primarily by a hydrogen fuel cell stack; the MissionH24 concept will also hit the Spa race track on May 11. Toyota also unveiled a hydrogen-powered racing car, the GR H2 Racing concept, last year.

Alpine's only current vehicle is the gas-powered A110 sports car, but all future models from the brand will be electric. The first Alpine EV will be the A290 hot hatch, which will debut later this year.

Besides the A290, Alpine is known to be developing an electric successor to the compact crossover and the A110, which will be unveiled around 2025 and 2026, respectively. Alpine bosses have also hinted at two larger crossovers that would be in the same segment as Porsche's Macan and Cayenne. These are expected to appear starting in 2027, when Alpine plans to enter the U.S. market.