Sustainable mobility is not only on the highways; it has also reached other areas that have experts (and society in general) on tenterhooks. Just when Ferrari presented its innovative proposal that we told you about a few days ago, the first race engine to run on this fuel arrived. The most shocking thing of all? It does what is impossible: it is combustion and zero emissions at the same time, so we have already ruled out EVs for good.
This could be the end of Ferrari: The first race engine to run on this futuristic fuel
Alpine Alpenglow Hy4 Prototype: Motorsport’s Future The Alpine Alpenglow Hy4 is a motorsport concept that signifies a century beyond hydrogen power’s potential for internal combustion engines. This rolling laboratory is a progression in Alpine’s journey to extend sustainable initiatives across motorsports and create a new generation of electric high-performance racers.
The structure of the Alpenglow Hy4 is the result of some optimization schemes. With a 2.0-liter, four-cylinder turbocharged engine producing no less than 340 horsepower (250 kW) and reving up to 7000 rpm, this illustrates that hydrogen can deliver the kind of sensation motorsport enthusiasts have associated with conventional ICE.
An added advantage of this kind of engine is that it has numerous benefits from utilizing hydrogen as a fuel source, meaning that the carbon footprint of the powertrain would be considerably lower than that of the normal gasoline or even diesel powertrains. Thus, to clarify, when hydrogen is burned, the substance does not emit any carbon dioxide, making it much more environmentally friendly.
The new Alpine engine runs on hydrogen, but not in a liquid state. Why is it so innovative?
Unlike most conventional fuels, hydrogen is in the gaseous state, and as such, issues to do with fuel delivery and mixture preparation are slightly more complex in comparison with the liquid fuels. This working group has also involved a fine-tuning of the injection system and combustion chamber so that a good mixture of air and fuel is formed, as well as avoiding any abnormal combustion.
For the storage of the hydrogen fuel, the Alpenglow Hy4 is fitted with three high-pressure tanks on the side pants as well as behind the cockpit. These are stored with the hydrogen gas at a pressure of 700 bars, which is then tapered down to 200 bars and then to 40 bars for immediate injection into the engine.
Now, let us state clearly that the Alpenglow Hy4 is not just a one-off, full racecar aimed at proving that Alpine’s innovative strategies and technologies in hybrid powertrains are feasible for rallying championships; the Alpenglow Hy4 is the starting point for making Alpine’s intention of changing the future of motorsport a reality.
A futuristic model (which we already know) and a long-awaited, confirmed launch date
The current model under development is a completely new, hydrogen-powered V6, which is due to be introduced in a second rolling legend later in the year. This V6 engine that has been engineered new at Alpine is expected to push the next generation hydrogen combustion technology in terms of performance and efficiency to the next level.
These very important changes, such as the switch from a traditional four-pot setup to a much larger and powerful V6 configuration, highlight the brand’s efforts to go as far as possible in terms of experimenting with hydrogen-powered racing cars. But when will you be able to see the performance of this hydrogen race engine? Two keys have been unveiled:
- The trialing of the first production Alpine car will be at Spa-Francorchamps Circuit.
- Its demonstrations will take place at the 24 Hours of Le Mans races.
The first hydrogen race engine is set to revolutionize mobility over the next few years (and we say this in the plural because it has so much potential that it will hardly be surpassed by others). In fact, its design alone has the experts in shock, although it is not inverted as in the case of Ferrari. So shall we say goodbye to EVs? Everything seems to point to this being the case, even though they have not even landed with force in the racing sector.
