Alpine A442
The Alpine A442 was a sports car prototype that was used in sports car races from 1975 to 1978.
Development history and technology
When the Alpine A442 made its racing debut in 1975, the majority of Alpine shares had already passed to Renault . The A442 is therefore referred to as the Renault-Alpine A442 in various specialist publications . The racing car was also on the starting list for the 1978 Le Mans 24-hour race as the Renault-Alpine A442.
The A442 followed in chronological order the predecessor models A440 and A441 , with which Alpine resumed the prototype program in the 1970s. The aim of the program was to win the endurance race at Le Mans, which the A442 could also achieve in 1978. With the A443 , which was also used at Le Mans in 1978, the program ended at the end of the same year in favor of Formula 1 entry. In the case of sports cars, three liters of displacement were allowed for naturally aspirated engines, while turbocharged engines were rated with a turbo factor of 1.4 (factor 2 applied in Formula 1). The basis of the concept was the 2-liter turbo V6 engine, which, equipped with two Garrett turbochargers, developed 490 hp in its original form. In its last stage of evolution in the A443, the pilots could fall back on 520 hp.
Like all Alpine prototypes, the A442 had a narrow chassis that was clad by a longer GRP chassis. The A442 was built as a two-seater and after extensive wind tunnel tests in 1978 it was given an open-top acrylic glass pulpit. Although the drivers complained about the enormous heat in the cockpit, they drove with this design at Le Mans in 1978. In order to finally win at Le Mans in 1978, extensive test drives were carried out; Above all, the top speed - the Le Mans race track has long straights - was worked on. In the qualification vote, the A442 reached a speed of 365 km / h at the end of the Mulsanne straight, the A443 was 15 km / h faster.
Racing history
The A442 made its racing debut at the Monza 1000 km race in 1975 , with Jean-Pierre Jabouille and Gérard Larrousse at the wheel, who immediately achieved third place. It was one of the few successes up to the 1978 24-hour race. Three difficult years followed, with Alpine struggling particularly with valve damage on the turbo engines.
After the defeats at Le Mans in 1976 and 1977 against Porsche 936 , four A442s were launched in 1978 . In addition to the two works cars - an A442 and the glass roof A442B - an A442 from Ecurie Calberson was used. Then there was the A443, which set the pace right from the start and was in the lead for 18 hours before it had to be parked with an engine failure. The factory A442 with Derek Bell and Jean-Pierre Jarier at the wheel was long out of the running with damage to the electrical system. The A442B, driven by Jean-Pierre Jaussaud and Didier Pironi , ran without any problems and won after 24 hours in front of two works Porsche 936s that had transmission problems. The Calberson A442 crossed the finish line in fourth, ahead of some Porsche 935s .
literature
- RM Clarke: Le Mans - the Porsche Years 1975-1982 . Brockland Books., Cobham, ISBN 1-85520-3871 .
