Some automakers are adamant that the combustion engine is price saving. Toyota believes it may be finished by making the ICE burn hydrogen as a substitute of fossil fuels. Porsche and Lamborghini suppose artificial fuels is likely to be the reply. Renault’s efficiency model Alpine is on staff hydrogen, and this Alpenglow Hy4 is a proof of idea.
An evolution of the static 2022 Alpenglow idea, the Hy4 is a operating prototype. It rocks a turbocharged 2.0-liter engine growing 340 horsepower. The four-cylinder mill revs to 7,000 rpm and feeds off from three hydrogen tanks, every carrying 4.6 kilos of hydrogen at 700 bar of strain. Output is channeled to the highway by way of a sequential transmission.
Should you discovering the four-pot underwhelming, Alpine is engaged on a much bigger engine. An all-new V-6 developed solely in-house particularly for hydrogen purposes is coming. A subsequent variant of the Alpenglow, probably referred to as the Hy6, will premiere in late 2024. Within the meantime, the Hy4 is about to hit the monitor.
It will make its public debut tomorrow in the course of the six-hour endurance race at Spa-Francorchamps as a part of the FIA WEC 2024 season. It can then head to France to attend the 24 Hours of Le Mans scheduled for June 14-15.
The Hy4 just isn’t a spitting picture of the unique Alpenglow idea since Alpine tweaked the physique. It has a modified crash construction to accommodate a two-seat cabin whereas the hydrogen tanks are embedded into the aspect pods. It is also a bit taller than earlier than and has a reworked aero bundle, accentuated by the brand new roof scoop.
Whereas the Hy4 is a track-only machine, Alpine believes the powertrain expertise is smart in a street-legal mannequin as properly. The French area of interest marque goes so far as to say a hydrogen-powered inner combustion engine represents a “tremendously promising answer for highway use.”
The concept of modifying a combustion engine to run on hydrogen is far older than Toyota’s experiments with the GR Yaris and GR Corolla. BMW had a V-12 7 Sequence with a 6.0-liter unit operating on hydrogen in 2005. Going even additional again in time, the German luxurious model developed a 5 Sequence (E12) to run on liquid hydrogen within the late Seventies. It is the 520h featured under in a BMW Group Traditional video.
