Alpine confirms it is working on an upcoming supercar

Alpine is ready to try something new.

According to Autocar, the French carmaker has confirmed that it is hard at work on a supercar. There’s a good chance that the vehicle, which promises to be completely different than anything in the brand’s 69-year history, will feature an all-electric powertrain.

Despite the confirmation, details about the upcoming model are sparse. At the moment, all we know is that internally the vehicle is called the Future Alpine Supercar and that work on it will be carried out in the company’s new, state-of-the-art research and development center.

The research and development base is called Hypertech Alpine and is located at the company’s Viry-Châtillon Formula 1 engine plant south of Paris. Much of the center’s work will focus on electric vehicle technologies, including next-generation sports car batteries and ultra-high-density cells and chemicals that will be used in future semiconductor packages. Alpine’s electric vehicle division, Ampere, will also develop new electric motors at the plant, according to the British publication. The center will also bring together for the first time the automaker’s motorsport programs, including its World Endurance Championship, Dakar and F1 teams (the latter will cease operations at the end of the 2025 season).

“The establishment of the Alpine Hypertech Center is key to Alpine’s growth strategy and, more broadly, to the Group’s innovation strategy,” Alpine CEO Philippe Krief said in a statement. “This is a turning point in the history of the Viry-Châtillon plant, which will ensure the continuity of knowledge and the integration of its rare skills into the Group’s ambitious future, while strengthening Alpine’s position as an ‘innovation garage’.

The fact that most of the work that will be carried out at Hypertech Alpine helps explain why there is strong belief that the supercar will be battery-powered, even if the brand hasn’t confirmed it yet. A supercar, especially one that isn’t made by any of the usual suspects, is often used to show off a company’s most advanced vehicle technology, so it’s not hard to imagine Alpine would want to do just that.

In the fall of 2022, Alpine unveiled a rather quirky concept called the Alpenglow (pictured at top), which may give you a hint of what to expect from its hypercar. It’s unlikely that a prototype hydrogen combustion engine will make it to production, especially if it’s an EV model, but its futuristic design could. At least that’s what we hope.