Alpine gives a glimpse of its potential WEC hydrogen intentions

Alpine has taken the covers off its Alpenglow Hy4 prototype ahead of this weekend's 6 Hours of Spa.

The car, which is powered by a hydrogen-fuelled internal combustion engine, was initially revealed in 2022 as a concept car during the 2022 Paris Motor Show.

Two years on and concept has become reality, with the French manufacturer set to put the car to the test with a demonstration run at Spa on Saturday ahead of the weekend's World Endurance Championship round.

Its reveal comes at an interesting time for WEC, with the 2027 regulations currently pencilled in to welcome hydrogen-powered cars to the grid.

And by showing off the car three years in advance, it provides an indicator as to how the cars could look once the new set of regulations come into place.

With the car now in the view of the public, vice president of Alpine Motorsports Bruno Famin said the Alpenglow Hy4 is a step towards the future of not just WEC, but potentially other championships such as Formula 1.

"As part of our active participation in decarbonising motorsports, we see the hydrogen internal combustion engine as an extremely promising solution," he said.

"We know that hydrogen will be an essential step in decarbonising the next generations of Endurance cars, and could also be for Formula 1 cars, particularly by switching to liquid storage for greater compactness and performance.

"The Alpenglow prototype perfectly illustrates this, a genuine technological laboratory for developing tomorrow's hydrogen engines."

Alpine has also confirmed the car will feature at its home event in June with demonstration runs also set in the lead up to the 24 Hours of Le Mans.