Renault Alpine A442

Racing car
Car_name = Renault Alpine A442


Category = Sports prototype
Constructor = Alpine/Renault
Designer = François Castaing
Bernard Dudot
Team = Renault Sport
Drivers = flagicon|France Gérard Larrousse
flagicon|France Jean-Pierre Jabouille
flagicon|France Henri Pescarolo
flagicon|South Africa|1928 Jody Scheckter
flagicon|France Didier Pironi
flagicon|France Jean-Pierre Jaussaud
flagicon|France Patrick Tambay
flagicon|France Jacques Laffite
flagicon|France Jean-Pierre Jarier
flagicon|UK Derek Bell
flagicon|France René Arnoux
Chassis = Aluminium-reinforced steel spaceframe
Front suspension = Double wishbone
Rear suspension = Double wishbone
Engine name = Renault-Gordini
Capacity = 1997 cc
Configuration = 90° V6
Turbo/NA = turbo,
Engine position = mid-mounted
Gearbox name = Hewland TL200
Gears = 5-speed
Type = manual
Differential =
Fuel = Elf
Tyres = Michelin
Debut = 1975 Mugello 1000 km
Races =
Wins = 2
Cons_champ =
Drivers_champ =
Poles =
Fastest_laps = 1
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, and 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.

Design

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 Auto bhp|490|0. Over the next three years this would increase to well over Auto bhp|500|-1, with the A443's 2.2L unit developing Auto bhp|520|0.

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 Auto kmh|8|0 in top speed at la Sarthe, but reducing visibility from the driving seat. However, during pracice 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.

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 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 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 Auto mph|236|0 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.

Race history

The A442 made its competition debut in March 1975, at the Mugello 1000 km, with Jabouille and Larrousse. 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. However, subsequent repeated mechanical failures meant that going in to the 1976 24 Hours of Le Mans, over a year later, 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, and for the 1977 race the Renault Sport works team fielded three cars - and drafted in endurance specialist Derek Bell - supported by an additional, privately entered A442. In 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 Porsche's repeated wins and reliable, fast cars.

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 the 1977 race meant that, for once, Renault was on a par with the dominant Porsche 936 turbo cars, and the two models shared the first six places on the grid equally. From the start, the A443 was the class of the field. Jabouille took fastest lap before the engine finally broke in the 18th hour, making it the second Renault retirement after the Bell/Jarier A442A works car had suffered transmission failure at the half-way point. However, fortunately for Renault, Pironi and Jaussaud in the A442B were well placed to inherit the lead.

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. After the final flag Pironi was too exhausted to climb up to the podium, where Jaussaud took the trophy alone.

References

*cite web |url= http://passionnemans.free.fr/histoire/renault/renault_02/renault_02.html |title=La Renault Alpine A442 |accessdate=2007-02-17 |format= |work= Passionnemans (French)
*cite web |url= http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/frame.php?file=car.php&carnum=2299 |title= Renault-Alpine A442B |accessdate=2007-02-17 |format= |work= www.Ultimatecarpage.com
*cite web |url= http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/frame.php?file=car.php&carnum=2298 |title= Renault-Alpine A443 |accessdate=2007-02-17 |format= |work= www.Ultimatecarpage.com
*cite web |url= http://www.renaultsport.co.uk/latestnews/heritage/story.asp?ArticleID=1100 |title= Renault Alpine A443 |accessdate=2007-02-17 |format= |work= Renault Sport