After months of rumours and, most of all, anger on the part of its employees (albeit without any disruption to operations), Renault has made up its mind. The Alpine engine project will be a distant memory by 2026, and the transformation of the site in Viry-Châtillon will begin.
The abandonment of power units by the French manufacturer marks the end of a long (and almost unbroken) history between F1 and Renault since 1977. From victories up until 1986, five constructors' titles (out of six) from 1992 to 1997 (with Williams), two new 100% in-house championships in 2005 and 2006, and then four titles between 2010 and 2013 with Red Bull, the expertise of the French engineers has made a name for itself. But the arrival of the V6 hybrid and the performances of recent seasons have finally sounded the death knell for the French engine, and Alpine will have to look for a customer engine between now and 2026 (perhaps from Mercedes).
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The Alpine Hypertech and a supercar
But that doesn't mean that the Viry plant is about to close. The Renault Group has in fact confirmed that the centre will become the 'Alpine Hypertech'. The new building will be responsible for the short- and medium-term development of batteries for the brand's sports cars. At a later date, the teams will also conduct research activities at Advanced Engineering on the chemistry of very high energy density cells, in particular with solid state battery technology. The press release states:
"Hypertech Alpine will be a new state-of-the-art engineering centre in Viry-Châtillon. It will be the centre of excellence that brings together cutting-edge engineering and high-performance automotive expertise to serve Alpine and the Renault Group.
The Renault engine has enjoyed some golden periods, notably in the R25 and R26 driven by Fernando Alonso (pictured here in 2006) and Giancarlo Fisichella.
The centre will maintain strong links with motorsport and will contribute to the development of Alpine's future supercar. In conclusion, it is stated that:
"Each employee, affected by this transformation project, will be offered a new position within Hypertech Alpine. A dedicated unit, made up of members of management, human resources and employee representatives, will be set up to work on the various measures to support the transformation and, in particular, the training plans needed to ramp up the new projects."
"The creation of the Hypertech Alpine centre is key to Alpine's development strategy and, more broadly, to the Group's innovation strategy. This is a turning point in the history of the Viry-Châtillon site, which will make it possible to perpetuate know-how and integrate its rare skills into the Group's ambitious future, while also strengthening Alpine's position as an 'innovation garage'. Its sporting DNA remains a pillar of the brand and will continue to fuel an unprecedented industrial and automotive project, thanks in particular to Hypertech Alpine."
The Alpine team will no doubt continue to flounder until 2026...
Gallery: Alpine Alpenglow concept
