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HISTORY:
Renault and Alpine had been working to win the 24 Hours Le Mans for over a decade. In 1978 they would bring 3 different models of the A442 to take on the stellar Porsche 936's. They A442A was open topped while the A442B featured an alternate glass bubble, and the A443 had a new, more powerful engine. While Porsche had only planned on running lap times in the 3:40s to 3:50's, the A443 took pole with a time of 3:28 and laps in the 3:30s in the race. However, the A443 would suffer a motor failure late in the going, and with the other factory A442A suffering a transmission failure over night, it was down to one factory entered A442B and one privately entered A442A to hold of the Porsches. The A442B of Didier Pironi and Jean-Pierre Jaussaud would be successful in this task, scoring an underdog win in their home race. Having finally accomplished their goal, Renault pulled out of sports car to focus on F1. It would be the last time the once dominate French brands would score a win in the race until Peugeot in 1992, but Renault's 1978 win is still stands as the last all-French victory at Le Mans.
RENAULT ALPINE A442B:
Renault and Alpine had been working to win the 24 Hours Le Mans for over a decade. In 1978 they would bring 3 different models of the A442 to take on the stellar Porsche 936's. They A442A was open topped while the A442B featured an alternate glass bubble, and the A443 had a new, more powerful engine. While Porsche had only planned on running lap times in the 3:40s to 3:50's, the A443 took pole with a time of 3:28 and laps in the 3:30s in the race. However, the A443 would suffer a motor failure late in the going, and with the other factory A442A suffering a transmission failure over night, it was down to one factory entered A442B and one privately entered A442A to hold of the Porsches. The A442B of Didier Pironi and Jean-Pierre Jaussaud would be successful in this task, scoring an underdog win in their home race. Having finally accomplished their goal, Renault pulled out of sports car to focus on F1. It would be the last time the once dominate French brands would score a win in the race until Peugeot in 1992, but Renault's 1978 win is still stands as the last all-French victory at Le Mans.
RENAULT ALPINE A442B:
