Meet the Alpenglow Hy4: Alpine’s hydrogen-powered racer

Have you heard of Alpine’s hydrogen race car? Meet the Alpenglow: the hydrogen-burning prototype from Renault’s sports car brand.

As motorsport regulations tighten, the days of dinosaur drinking petrol engines are numbered. But there is an alternative – and that alternative is hydrogen.

The engineers at Alpine’s skunkworks have developed a race car that runs on hydrogen. There are different types of hydrogen engines, but to cut a long story short, this one is a petrol engine which has been adapted to run on hydrogen.

The hydrogen internal combustion engine works in very nearly the same way as a petrol engine, but requires some extra technical gubbins to handle the power density and temperatures that hydrogen produces when it goes bang.

The powerplant in the Hy4 is a converted four pot petrol engine (sadly). But thankfully it will be powered by a meatier V6 a bit later on. Much better.

Performance and design

The Alpine Alpenglow Hydrogen Hy4 debuted in May this year at Spa and also ran demonstration laps at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June.

By using a hydrogen internal combustion engine, the car retains the thrilling sound and performance of traditional race cars, whilst also ticking the eco box.

The turbocharged 2.0-litre 4-cylinder engine produces 340 hp, demonstrating that sustainability doesn’t mean sacrificing excitement.

Future innovations

The Alpenglow Hy4 is part of a broader strategy to incorporate hydrogen technology across their line-up. With the backing of the Renault Group, Alpine aims to bring hydrogen-powered vehicles to market by the early 2030s.

Bruno Famin, VP of Alpine Motorsports, emphasised the potential, saying: “Hydrogen will be essential in decarbonising the next generations of Endurance cars and possibly Formula 1.”

Bridging racing and road

The Alpenglow Hy4 bridges the gap between racing and road cars. With its carbon monocoque chassis and advanced design features, it hints at Alpine’s future stylistic direction. 

The car’s two-seater cockpit and racing-inspired elements underline its performance credentials.

Environmental commitment

Alpine’s commitment to hydrogen aligns with global sustainability goals, aiming for carbon neutrality in Europe by 2040 and worldwide by 2050.