Alpine recovers the cable with the electric cars. He wants to continue with combustion engines, but burning hydrogen

With the Alpine A110 R  and its  special edition Fernando Alonso,  Alpine 's relationship  with combustion engines  comes to an end. The next models of the French brand will be three electric ones which will hit the streets from 2025: the Alpine 5 based on the electric Renault 5, an SUV and a sports car developed with Lotus.

However, the latest prototype from the French firm invites us to think that combustion engines will return later in the Alpine range, but not in the same way as before. And it is that the  Alpine Alpenglow concept  which will be presented next week at the Paris Motor Show uses a heat engine powered by hydrogen.

Burning hydrogen to keep combustion engines alive

Hydrogen  continues to gain weight  in the automotive industry. Gradually, more hydrogen fuel cell models are coming to market, such as Stellantis' utility vehicles, joining others that have been on sale for some time, such as the Hyundai NEXO and  Toyota Mirai .

But hydrogen fuel cell electrics are not the only alternative. Several manufacturers are working on conventional combustion mechanisms that, instead of using traditional fuels,  are powered by hydrogen .

This is the case with Toyota , which has been testing  this type of engine for some time on the Yaris and Corolla  to keep combustion propellants alive. Combustion of hydrogen  would allow conventional combustion engines to continue to be operated with  zero or near-zero emissions , depending on the type of hydrogen used.

The three new electric Alpines look timidly behind the Alpenglow

At Yamaha, they also do not want to give up V8 engines and  have already developed a 442 hp engine that only emits water . Alpine now joins the club of hydrogen internal combustion engine builders with the  Alpine Alpengrow prototype .

The French brand will present its latest innovations next week at the  Paris Motor Show . One of them will be the Alpine A110 R, the swan song of the Gallic sports car and also the version that puts an end to the history of the Alpine with a combustion engine.

Even if it is perhaps rather a point and followed because the concept which will accompany the A110 R on the Alpine stand in Paris is committed to the same solution as Toyota and Yamaha to keep the internal combustion engine alive:  hydrogen .

Future Alpine launches will be  all-electric,  but the French marque makes it clear with this prototype that electrification is not the only way to have a range of models that are sustainable and compliant with European emissions regulations.

"Alpenglow's powerful and luxurious design hints at what the Alpine cars of tomorrow will look like and our vision for motorsport in the future.  With hydrogen technology, we reinforce our commitment to a responsible future and to  the driving pleasure  remains more real than ever,” says Laurent Rossi, CEO of Alpine.

For the moment no technical details of the Alpine Alpenglow have been disclosed, beyond the fact that the hydrogen is stored in  two tanks at 700 bars  of pressure, but we will know them next week.

What Alpine has shown is the exterior design of this prototype which, with a  recycled carbon fiber body  that measures more than five meters long and two meters wide, is much larger than the current A110.

In fact, it looks more like a hypercar than a typical sports car, although it also retains the mid-engined, two-seat layout of the A110. On the other hand, Alpine talks about competition in the Alpenglow press release, so it could also anticipate the shape and technology of the future  Alpine LMDh endurance .