By Dave Abrahams
Le Mans, France - The iconic '24 Heures du Mans' always dishes up a few surprises, but few are as unexpected or as pretty as this one.
It's the Alpine Celebration, a show car created to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of France's most respected tuning studio - and later boutique manufacturer - by race and rally driver Jean Rédélé.
It's a mark of that respect that current Alpine head honcho Bernard Ollivier was accorded the privilege of launching the Celebration with a parade lap of the Sarthe circuit during the lunch break before the start of the 2015 edition on Saturday.
The Celebration is a compact rear mid-engined two-seater coupé, finished in Rédélé's signature deep blue, highlighted with flashes of orange to echo the A450b LMP2 cars that were entered in this year's race.
It's designed to add a modern twist to the classic Rédélé low profile, creased bonnet and distinctive rear window, with carbon-fibre spoiler, sills, rear air intakes and mirror housings. Even the alloy rims with their one-piece cast-aluminium hubs are derived from a style used on the A110 and A310 in the 1970s.
RIGHT UP TO DATE
The Celebration was led around the circuit by a A110 Berlinette - Alpine's most famous design, which was not only a practical everyday road car but also a successful rally and endurance racing tool - almost as if the Berlinette had been brought right up to date.
Ollivier gave no details of what's under the engine cover behind the seats, other than that it was sourced from Alpine's owner Renault and drives the rear wheels - but he did say that the Celebration previews the production coupé Alpine is planning to release in 2016.
It's known that the production version will have a mid-mounted two-litre Renault turbopetrol four rated for about 185kW, so it's a safe guess that's also what's in the show car.
Expect to see the road car - which doesn't yet have a name - at the 2016 Geneva motor show, and on sale in Europe at around mid-year, at a target price of €35 000 (R487 000).