On Thursday, the Alpine Alpenglow and the Ligier JS2 RH2 became the first hydrogen-powered cars to complete a lap of the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans circuit. For this inaugural run, Stéphane Le Foll, President of Le Mans Métropole, took the passenger seat in the Alpine.
Spectators from the hydrogen sector, gathered at Maison Blanche, had to be patient—racing incidents caused some delays. But eventually, both the Alpine and Ligier roared to life, their hydrogen combustion engines started by drivers David Praschl and Pierre Humbert, respectively.
Last year, the Hy4 version of the Alpenglow made headlines with Zinedine Zidane on board. This year, the newly upgraded Hy6 model carried Mayor Le Foll for its first lap around the historic track. Despite being nearly 1.90 metres tall and feeling the heat in the cockpit, he was thrilled with the experience.
“This was my first lap of the 24 Hours of Le Mans circuit,” he said. “Hydrogen is an energy of the future, with real potential.” He praised the car’s performance and braking, adding: “It’s magnificent—I sincerely thank Alpine.”
A Record-Breaking Speed
Upon returning to the pits, Alpine motorsport boss Bruno Famin informed him that the Alpenglow had reached a top speed of 302 km/h—a new record for a hydrogen-powered vehicle, beating the H24’s previous record of 290 km/h.
The hydrogen sector has made a strong impression at this year’s Le Mans. Following the successful world premiere of Blue Spirit Aero’s Dragonfly hydrogen aircraft on Tuesday and Toyota’s unveiling of its GR H2 Racing concept on Wednesday, the momentum is building. Hydrogen-powered innovation is making itself seen—and heard—on the world stage.
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