Launched by Carlos Tavares, former driver and Renault-Nissan's second-in-charge at the time, the program was entrusted to Philippe Sinault's Signatech team, already a Nissan LMP2 collaborator in the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup then the FIA World Endurance Championship (2011 and 2012). Like Alpine's efforts in the second half of the 1960s and later in the 1970s, reliability and consistency proved to be the keys to victory.

In the European Le Mans Series (ELMS) in 2013, the Alpine A450 won the LMP2 team and driver titles for Nelson Panciatici and Pierre Ragues in its first season. The two French drivers only claimed one win, but placed in the top 4 in all five rounds of the year. They were joined for the 24 Hours by Tristan Gommendy, finishing eighth in the class. In 2014, Panciatici teamed up with fellow countryman Paul-Loup Chatin and British driver Oliver Webb. Signatech Alpine's new trio reached the third step on the LMP2 podium and placed in the overall top 10 (seventh) at Le Mans. Panciatici/Chatin/Webb won for the second time in a row the ELMS LMP2 team and driver titles, still with only one victory, but as a mainstay in the top 5 in the five races on the calendar.

In 2015, for the A450's final season, Signatech Alpine moved into the FIA World Endurance Championship. Despite being forced to retire at the 24 Hours, the French team finished fifth in the LMP2 championship classification, clinching at Shanghai its first win at the international level of endurance racing thanks to Nelson Panciatici, Paul-Loup Chatin and Tom Dillman. Throughout the subsequent seasons, Signatech Alpine became a major contender in the FIA WEC.

In 2016, the new Alpine A460 sported a closed body which had become the standard in LMP2 prototypes. In five runnings of the 24 Hours and four seasons in the FIA WEC, Signatech Alpine won the class three times at Le Mans (2016, 2018 and 2019) and earned three titles in the championship (2016 and 2018-2019). From 2016 to 2020, the team's A460 then A470 finished twice in the overall top 5 at the 24 Hours (fifth in 2016 and 2019) and amassed eight wins in the FIA WEC thanks to Frenchmen Nicolas Lapierre (at the wheel for the three class victories at Le Mans) and Pierre Thiriet, American driver Gustavo Menezes, Brazilian driver André Negrão and Monaco native Stéphane Richelmi.

Signatech Alpine's sporting success was achieved in tandem with a road car renaissance. Releasing in 2017 a new version of the legendary A110 sports car, Alpine became the emblem of all Renault racing activities. In 2021, the team made its debut in Hypercar, the new top class in endurance racing and successor to LMP1 prototypes. It scored its first overall podium at the 24 Hours of Le Mans thanks to third place for Nicolas Lapierre, André Negrão and Matthieu Vaxivière.

The start of the race was preceded by an Alpine parade where two-time F1 world champion and 24 Hours winner Fernando Alonso drove a Formula 1 single-seater for the first time at the 13.6 km Le Mans circuit, barely one month after Esteban Ocon's win at the Hungarian Grand Prix. The countless Alpine flags waved at the 89th 24 Hours showed the special place held by the marque in the hearts of French spectators. Here's to new adventures!

PHOTOS: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS. From top to bottom: the LMP2 class winning Alpine A460 in 2016; the first podium of the Signatech Alpine era in 2014 with the A450 of Chatin/Panciatici/Webb; Pierre Thiriet, André Negrão and Nicolas Lapierre (from left to right), the winning LMP2 trio in 2019; Alpine took its first start in the Hypercar era this year, finishing third overall; on Saturday 21 August, the start of the 24 Hours was preceded by an Alpine parade, the standard bearer of all Renault sporting activities.