The first Alpine Sports Prototype: the M63. It won its class at the hands of the late José Rosinski at the Nürburgring first time out in 1963. Here we see one of the three that entered Le Mans in 1963.
By Roy Smith
When Roy Smith decided to write up a bit of a story about the Le Mans Alpine Legacy in order for fans to understand the history of the Alpine Sports Prototypes, what he did was do very clearly layout the often confusing development of those rare cars, the Alpines M63 through the Alpine A442B which culminated in a Sarthe victory in 1978. As you scroll down, you’ll see the car by car development of this intriguing French racing effort. [Ed.]
The passion for retro cars doesn’t come much stronger than that of the thousands of enthusiasts who support and follow the Alpine marque around the world.
For the current generation of World Endurance Sports Car followers, Alpine is maybe a familiar name, but unless they delve deep into the past, a new car called an Alpine A450 was just that – a new car. For the directors of the new Automobiles Alpine company in Dieppe, however, it was something more, and the sight of a new sports prototype racing car brought back fond memories for those of a certain age who were there to witness the debut of a new Alpine at Silverstone, England, on April 13th 2013.
The new Alpine A450 WEC Challenger at Silverstone.
The new car, albeit an interim model being run by Signatech and entered under that name, is the first of what the author was told will be an all-new challenge on the World Endurance Championship by the new company (formed by the cooperation of Renault and Caterham) – not a Renault, not a Renault Sport, not a Caterham, but an ALPINE.
This bold new step comes with a huge history and here through images we bring that history to those who may not be aware that in the 1960s and ‘70s Alpine was one of the most prolific of competitors in the challenge to win at Le Mans. That they won the race in 1978 demonstrates their commitment and dedication, backed by the dogged determination of the then Renault Sport team. This is the pedigree of the Alpine A450. The author of this article, Roy Smith, wrote an award-winning two-volume history of these cars and the words and pictures we see here are from that work, a tribute to the men of Alpine Dieppe. A dream has been reawakened, passions renewed; even though they saw it all before, the heart beats a little faster. Le Mans awaits.
Alpine M63, 64 and 65
The development of the M63 led to the M64, with slightly redesigned bodywork for 1964.
In 1965, the design team led by Richard Bouleau came up with the new M65, which saw aerodynamics coming to the fore.
Alpine A210
During 1965 and into 1966, the M65 morphed into the Alpine A210, which was to become probably the most successful of the first-era Alpine Sports Prototypes.