Renault Alpine A442
 The Renault Alpine A442B, wearing the bubble canopy. |
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| Category | Group 6 sports prototype | ||||
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| Constructor | Alpine/Renault | ||||
| Designer(s) |
François Castaing Bernard Dudot |
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| Technical specifications | |||||
| Chassis | Aluminium-reinforced steel spaceframe | ||||
| Suspension (front) | Double wishbone | ||||
| Suspension (rear) | Double wishbone | ||||
| Engine | Renault-Gordini 1997 cc 90° V6 turbo, mid-mounted | ||||
| Transmission | Hewland TL200 5-speed manual | ||||
| Fuel | Elf | ||||
| Tyres | Michelin | ||||
| Competition history | |||||
| Notable entrants | Renault Sport | ||||
| Notable drivers |
 Gérard Larrousse Jean-Pierre Jabouille Henri Pescarolo Jody Scheckter Didier Pironi Jean-Pierre Jaussaud Patrick Tambay Jacques Laffite Jean-Pierre Jarier Derek Bell René Arnoux
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| Debut | 1975 Mugello 1000 km | ||||
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The Renault Alpine A442 is a sports prototype racing car, designed and built by Alpine, but funded and powered by Alpine's owners Renault, specifically to contest the 24 Hours of Le Mans race. Variants were entered for the event in 1976, 1977 and 1978. An A442B finally won the race on the third occasion, in the hands of Didier Pironi and Jean-Pierre Jaussaud. Also entered in 1978 was the updated Renault Alpine A443 model; essentially an A442 chassis, but powered by a new 2138 cc engine. Following this all-French victory in the premier French motorsport event, Renault withdrew from sports car racing to concentrate their efforts in Formula One.
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, 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 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 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 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.
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