Developed by Alpine’s motorsport partner Signatech, the new GT4 racer is the ultimate expression of the A110’s remarkable agility and track-bred performance. Alongside the A110 Cup it becomes the second racing version of the A110. With increased engine power and aerodynamic downforce compared to the A110 Cup, the A110 GT4 will see Alpine return to competition on the racetrack against the world’s most prestigious car makers.
A small number of A110 GT4s will race throughout Europe during the second half of 2018 before the car goes into full-scale production ahead of the 2019 season. All A110 GT4s will be campaigned by customer teams with factory support from Signatech. A unique part of the A110 racing car proposition is the option to upgrade an A110 Cup to GT4 specification using a kit of components.
A110 GT4 racer adds new chapter to Alpine’s motorsport story
- Developed, built and sold by Signatech leveraging decades of racing experience
- Alpine returns to competition with other car makers in a production-based category
- A110 Cup can be upgraded to GT4 specification with kit of components
- GT4 adds next step to Alpine’s ladder of progression
Ever since its foundation in 1955, Alpine has competed at the highest levels of international motorsport to demonstrate the performance and durability of its cars. Alpine’s most famous motorsport successes include overall victory the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1978 and winning the 1973 FIA World Rally Championship teams’ title. Today, it continues to race in the LMP2 FIA World Endurance Championship – winning the series in 2016 – while the one-make Alpine Europa Cup allows amateur Alpine enthusiasts to compete in track-prepared A110 Cup race cars.
The new A110 GT4 will see Alpine return to the racetrack in competition with the world’s most prestigious car makers in a production-based category. Building on the specification of the A110 Cup with more power and enhanced aerodynamic downforce, the GT4 is the ultimate version of the A110 sports car.
Developed, built and sold by Alpine’s motorsport partner Signatech – the organisation that operates Alpine’s FIA World Endurance Championship programme and the Alpine Europa Cup – the A110 GT4 is based on the A110 road car, sharing its lightweight aluminium chassis and double wishbone suspension. Motorsport-specification springs and dampers, Brembo competition brakes, racing tyres, a downforce-generating front splitter and rear wing, a sequential competition gearbox and extensive engine upgrades lift the A110’s track performance to as yet unseen levels. A safety cage, fire extinguisher and racing seat and harness complete the motorsport makeover.
Equipped with air conditioning, the A110 GT4 retains the road car’s 1.8-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine, albeit with significant power upgrades.
To be run by customer teams with support from Signatech, the A110 GT4 will begin racing in selected events in the second half of the 2018 season. The car will enter full production in time for the 2019 motorsport season.
Uniquely, Signatech will offer A110 Cup customers the opportunity to upgrade their cars to GT4 specification using a package of components, enabling them to compete in the Alpine Cup one season and progress to the GT4 category the following year, all with the same car.
Being based on the A110 road car, the GT4 racer benefits from that model’s inherent qualities. Its compact size and lightweight construction are key virtues for circuit racing, as is the mid-engined layout and optimal weight distribution. With very light tyre use and a power-to-weight ratio of 312bhp/tonne – the very limit permitted by GT4 regulations – the A110 is particularly well suited to the GT4 category.
Eligible for the SRO European GT4 Series, the international Creventic 24 Hour series and many one-off races such as the Spa 24 Hours, the A110 GT4 will be seen competing around the globe at many of the world’s most famous circuits.
With the launch of the A110 GT4, Alpine’s ladder of progression takes another step. Driving enthusiasts can begin by enjoying their A110s on the road before heading out on circuit during Alpine’s official trackdays. From there, they can begin competing against like-minded enthusiasts in the Alpine Cup before eventually progressing to the top rung of the ladder in the A110 GT4.
Michael van der Sande, Alpine Managing Director, said: “Alpine made its name by competing against other car makers and the new A110 GT4 by Signatech will see us return to that arena. I’m confident the car will be competitive; our ambition is for it to win races and championships.
“Now, amateur competitors can race with us in the Alpine Cup in a friendly and relaxed environment before upgrading their cars and tackling the highly-competitive GT4 series.”
Philippe Sinault, Signatech team principal, added: “Since 1990 Signatech has competed in various international motorsport series in both single-seaters and endurance racing, with enormous success. We’ve applied all of that experience and expertise to the development of the new A110 GT4 to make it a highly competitive racing car.
“Since teaming up with Alpine in the FIA World Endurance Championship we’ve won races on three continents. In 2016 we won the LMP2 class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans on our way to winning that year’s championship. We look forward to enjoying that same level of success with Alpine in the GT4 category.”
Alpine in motorsport
- Founder Jean Rédélé competed in rallies and road races
- Alpine’s highlights include World Rally Championship and Le Mans victories
- Alpine competed across the board in single-seaters, rallying and endurance racing
- In 2016, Alpine won Le Mans and the FIA LMP2 World Endurance Championship
Proving the performance, agility and durability of his cars in the crucible of motorsport was of utmost importance to Jean Rédélé. Alpine has competed at the highest level of rallying and circuit racing for decades, recording a string of famous victories that belies the company’s modest size. With that same ambitious and determined spirit Alpine today competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship. The one-make Alpine Cup and new A110 GT4, meanwhile, demonstrate the A110’s inherent agility and performance on the race track.
Although Alpine is perhaps best known for its rallying exploits in the Sixties and Seventies and for winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1978, the company has, in fact, competed right across the motorsport spectrum. Alpine has built no fewer than 70 single-seater racing cars, including two Formula 1 machines, and some 37 sports prototypes for endurance racing.
The company also counts several rallycross championships to its credit, while amateur competitors have recorded in excess of 1,000 individual victories in hill climbs, club racing events and autotests. Demonstrably, motorsport is a core component of Alpine’s DNA.
In fact, it’s true to say the company was as much a builder of competition cars as road-going sports cars when it was founded by Rédélé in 1955. The Frenchman had already earned himself a reputation as a formidable driver, thanks to a series of class victories in high-profile events. Campaigning modified Renault 4 CVs, Rédélé quickly proved his ability to prepare cars for motorsport, too.
By the early Sixties, Alpine cars were competing throughout Europe in rallies and road races, as well as on purpose-built race circuits. In 1963 the aerodynamic, long-tail M63 prototype – the company’s first dedicated circuit racer – won the French sports car championship.
The following year the improved M64 prototype managed the same feat, as well as clinching a class victory at Le Mans.
A string of national rally championship victories would follow soon after, the A110 victorious in Spain, France, Bulgaria and Romania, among others. In 1971, the A110 won the world-famous Monte Carlo Rally; Alpine locked out the podium two years later. That dominant performance on the twisty, snow-covered mountain roads of the Monte was a significant moment; Alpine went on to win the FIA World Rally Championship Manufacturers’ title later that year.
It was in 1978 that Alpine recorded one of its most celebrated motorsport successes. Driving the A442B sports prototype, Didier Pironi and Jean-Pierre Jaussaud won the 24 Hours of Le Mans, lapping the eight-mile Circuit de la Sarthe 369 times. By the mid-Nineties, Alpine had racked up 26 domestic and international rally titles, four rallycross championships and six single-seater titles.
Using those decades of success as a springboard, Alpine returned to front-line motorsport in 2013. It immediately proved to be a triumphant return to racing; the marque’s A450 prototype won the European Le Mans Series title at its first attempt, and again in 2014.
From there, Alpine graduated to the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), competing once again on the world stage. The A450B secured a race victory in the LMP2 category at the 6 Hours of Shanghai in that first year. In 2016, that car’s replacement, the A460, won four of the nine rounds to secure the LMP2 WEC title for Alpine, the most hard-fought of those victories coming at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Alpine continued to race in the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2017, winning its class at the 6 Hours of the Circuit of the Americas.
Additionally, Alpine is staging a one-make race series, the Alpine Cup. From 2018 the six-round championship will take in some of the most iconic circuits in Europe, including Silverstone in the UK and Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium. Operated by Alpine’s FIA World Endurance Champion-ship partner, Signatech, the Alpine Cup further demonstrates Alpine’s commitment to motorsport.
A second racing version of the A110, the A110 GT4, has been developed by Signatech in close partnership with Alpine’s own engineers. With more power and aerodynamic downforce than the A110 Cup car, the GT4 machine is the ultimate expression of the A110’s remarkable agility and thrilling on-track performance.
Source. Alpine
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