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28-464: Alpine had been working with increasingly close ties to Renault since 1971, and by the beginning of the A442 project in 1975 the two companies were almost completely merged. Renault finally bought Alpine outright in early 1976, Renault inheriting Alpine's sports prototype program. The A442 was a direct evolution of the successful Alpine A440 and title-winning A441 models. However, unlike the previous cars,

56-519: A commemorative coin . From 1906 to 1914 the Club regulated major races in France and established the rules for the annual national race dubbed a Grand Prix that was open to competitors from any country. World War I disrupted racing in France until 1921 at which time the national event returned under the official name "ACF Grand Prix" (French: Grand Prix de l'A.C.F. ). This name was used until 1967 when it

84-649: A hair salon and a travel agency. On 16 January 1906 the French Automobile Club licensed the département of Sarthe to organize an auto race. Their historical action marked the beginning of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the French Grand Prix . Organized Grand Prix motor racing evolved to become the Paris-based Formula One organization. The 100th anniversary of the event was marked by the government of France issuing

112-415: A huge budget into developing the A442 into a Le Mans winner. Many hours were spent in testing, particularly using long airport runways to simulate the mechanical and aerodynamic stresses induced on the long, fast Mulsanne Straight . In addition, Renault's engine department went to work on squeezing as much power out of the five-year-old powerplant as was possible. Capacity was upped to 2138 cc, just short of

140-506: A slightly longer wheelbase. Following wind tunnel testing during the autumn and winter of 1977, the A442B and A443 were introduced in 1978 each sporting an acrylic glass "bubble" partial roof, resulting in an additional 8 km/h (5 mph) in top speed at la Sarthe, but reducing visibility from the driving seat. However, during practice for the 1978 Le Mans race , A443 drivers Patrick Depailler and Jean-Pierre Jabouille complained that

168-543: Is found during notable races such as: The 1000 km of Monza: April 20, 1975. The car comes in fourth behind the A442. The 1,000 km of Spa: May 4, 1975 (the cars did not participate). The 1000 km of the Nürburgring : June 1, 1975 (but only during testing). The 1975 24 Hours of Le Mans ; where the car was part of the Elf-Switzerland team. The 1,000 km of Zeltweg June 29, 1975, women's race, but

196-775: The 1974 European 2 Liter Sports Car Championship . Designed by French engineer and racing driver André de Cortanze , the four A441s, entered as works cars and each driven by a French driver, won every race in the 1974 competition (at least one win by each driver), taking the Constructors' Championship, with driver Alain Serpaggi taking the Drivers' Championship. In 1973, after having achieved much success in rally , Alpine decided to turn its attention and commitment to endurance racing, where despite having participated since 1963, it had not yet obtained significant results. Thus

224-581: The 1976 24 Hours of Le Mans the team had failed to win another race. That run of form was not to change, and the single car entered dropped out with engine failure before half of the 24 hours had elapsed. For the Renault management, success at Le Mans was a huge prestige issue. For the 1977 race the Renault Sport works team fielded three cars, drafted in endurance specialist Derek Bell , and were supported by an additional, privately entered A442. In

252-672: The Hôtel de Crillon and the Hôtel de Coislin  [ fr ] , where France signed a treaty by which it became the first nation to recognize the independence of the United States. The members of the Automobile Club of France enjoy several lounges, a swimming pool, a gym, a library containing more than 50,000 references, a movie theatre, bars, and dining rooms. Numerous activities are offered, including yoga, squash, shooting, billiards, and fencing. The facilities also include

280-529: The Mugello 1000 km , with Jabouille and Larrousse, although other sources report the car to be an A441 with the new turbo engine. Despite the relatively underdeveloped turbo addition to the Renault engine, the car lasted long enough for the team to take a surprise win in its very first race. In the 1976 Nürburgring 300 km two Renaults qualified in the front row, only to crash out in the second corner. Subsequent repeated mechanical failures meant that going into

308-555: The 1974 Marche continental title, while Alain Serpaggi's results earned him the European Drivers' Championship, in a 1-2-3 sweep ahead of his teammates Larrousse and Jabouille. The following season the car was entrusted to private teams, while one example was equipped with a turbocharged engine by the American Garrett Systems to carry on the development of its heir, the A442. Among the results obtained by

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336-450: The 1977 race meant that, for once, Renault was on a par with the dominant Porsche 936 turbo cars, which had been improved, and the two manufacturers shared the first four rows of the grid equally. The Porsche 935 /78 Moby Dick , which due to its aerodynamic layout and 800 horsepower achieved over 360 km/h on the straight, qualified third, behind the new 936 and the A443. From the start,

364-573: The A441 Turbo (A441T) and it will be Gérard Larrousse who will be the driver. The difference with the previous model is the engine of the car: a 2-liter turbo engine developed by Bernard Dudot . The power of the motor then increased to 490 hp at 9,900 revolutions per minute (against 485 at 9,800). The car is first sighted at the Mugello 1,000 km, on March 23, 1975. Jean-Pierre Jabouille and Gérard Larrousse drive this new model and finish on

392-410: The A442's 2.0L Renault- Gordini powerplant boasted a large Garrett turbocharger , pushing power output to 490 bhp (365 kW). Over the next three years this would increase to well over 500 bhp (370 kW), with the A443's 2.2L unit developing 520 bhp (388 kW). In common with the earlier cars, the engine was suspended inside a relatively small steel spaceframe chassis, which

420-405: The A442B were well placed to inherit the lead. Two 936s had technical problems, the third crashed at 11 am. The pairing held on to the lead for the final few hours, finishing four laps ahead of the second-placed Porsche. The privateer A442A also finished well, taking fourth place behind the two remaining 936s. After the final flag Pironi was too exhausted to climb up to the podium, where Jaussaud took

448-564: The A443 was the class of the field, lapping in under 3 minutes 40 seconds, while the Porsches had planned to do only 3:40 to 3:50. Jabouille took fastest lap at 3:34, which was six seconds slower than in qualifying, before the A443's engine finally broke in the 18th hour. This was the second Renault retirement, after the Bell/Jarier A442A works car had suffered transmission failure at the half-way point. However, Pironi and Jaussaud in

476-541: The bubble made them feel claustrophobic and trapped engine heat inside the cockpit, making driving conditions intolerable. Therefore, only the A442B ever competed with the bubble in place. By 1978, Gérard Larrousse had moved up from works driver to manage the Renault Sport team. He laid out the team's priorities: win at Le Mans, then focus all attention on repeating the success in Formula One. Renault ploughed

504-546: The engine became partially load-bearing. At the same time, the suspension was revised to alleviate the understeer that the previous car suffered. Dubbed the A441 , four prototypes were constructed and entrusted to some of the best racing drivers that France could offer at the time; including Gérard Larrousse , Jean-Pierre Jabouille , Alain Serpaggi and Alain Cudini . In their hands, Alpine-Renault won seven out of seven races and took

532-506: The intervening period between the two Le Mans starts, the Renault Alpines had taken second and third places in the 500 km ACF race at Dijon-Prenois , as well as second place at the high-speed 4h Monza round. Expectation and publicity levels were high. It was therefore something of an embarrassment when not one of the four cars reached the finishing flag. Renault's yellow and black liveried squad did not compare favourably with

560-728: The pilot on board the A441 abandons. The Alpine A441 was retired end of the 1975 season, to give way to its successor; the A442 . Automobile Club de France The Automobile Club of France (French: Automobile Club de France ) (ACF) is a men's club founded on 12 November 1895 by Albert de Dion , Paul Meyan  [ fr ] , and its first president, the Dutch-born Baron Étienne van Zuylen van Nyevelt . The Automobile Club of France, also known in French as "ACF" or "l'Auto",

588-612: The private teams, there is the victory in the 2.0-liter class and the fourth place overall obtained at the 1000 km of Monza 1975 by the couple Marie-Claude Beaumont-Lella Lombardi. When the results of the championship were announced, the Alpine team took the title thanks to seven victories for the Alpine A441. At the World Sports Prototypes Championship, the team transforms the A441 model into

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616-585: The theoretical 2142 cc limit for turbocharged cars, and this revamped engine was installed into the new, lengthened chassis, becoming the A443. In full qualifying trim, with the bubble roof, the A443 achieved a top speed of 236 mph (380 km/h) on the Mulsanne Straight, making it the fastest car ever produced by Renault, a record which still stands today and includes all of Renault's F1 entries. The A442 made its competition debut in March 1975, at

644-404: The top steps of the podium. An Alpine A441 was also part of the race in the Elf-Switzerland team; it is piloted by Marie-Claude Beaumont and Léa Lombardi who finished sixth. The Renault Alpine team decides to put an end to the use of the Alpine A441 to develop the next A442 model. The model is then only used for testing. We find however the A441 during the races in the stable of Elf-Switzerland. It

672-473: The trophy alone. Results in bold indicate pole position. Results in italics indicate fastest lap. (private entrant) [REDACTED] Media related to Renault Alpine A442 at Wikimedia Commons [REDACTED] Media related to Renault Alpine A443 at Wikimedia Commons Alpine A441 The Alpine A441 is a 2-liter ( Sports 2000 ) Group 5 sports prototype racing car built by French company Alpine and co-developed by Renault to compete in

700-421: The white Martini Racing Porsche 936 and Porsche 935 . In both World Championship series of 1976, these reliable, fast cars scored repeated wins. At the 1978 24 Hours of Le Mans , their huge development program paid off. Once again, the works team entered three cars: an old A442, renamed A442A; the bubble-canopied A442B; and the A443. A second A442A was entered by Ecurie Calberson . The work carried out since

728-598: Was conceived the Alpine A440 Barchetta, powered by a 2.0-liter 270 HP Renault- Gordini V6 engine, which immediately proved to be competitive. An evolution of the A440 was prepared for the following season, equipped with a higher wheelbase, the Hewland FGA400 gearbox, and a lighter engine using magnesium and light alloys. The chassis was reinforced with aluminum sheets riveted to the tubular structure and

756-566: Was initially located near the Paris Opera and benefited from a villa in the Bois de Boulogne . In 1898, the club moved to the exceptional site of the former "Place Louis XV" (currently Place de la Concorde ) in order to offer its members more comfort in a prestigious setting. The club still occupies more than 10,000 square meters in the Hotels du Plessis-Bellière and Moreau, both located between

784-419: Was then clothed in a much longer glassfibre body. The extra length of the body was mostly to be found in the tail section, to improve high-speed aerodynamic efficiency, and hence top speed on the long Mulsanne straight at Circuit de la Sarthe . The bodywork was a conventional open two-seater arrangement. Designed as a " hare ", to stretch their Porsche 936 rivals to breaking point, the A443 also incorporated

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