With the chequered flag at the end of last month’s 8 Hours of Bahrain the curtain finally, no this time really finally, came down on the LMP1 era.
The #36 Alpine A480, with an Oreca chassis based on the core of the 07 LMP2 car, and a Gibson GL 458 4.5 litre V8 engine was the last car standing, a grandfathered version of the Rebellion R13, given leave to compete in a somewhat restricted form in the Hypercar class in 2021 and 2022 (the ‘grandfathering saw the car gain c.100 kg and lose a chunk of power).
The car’s career, which was served solely in the FIA World Endurance Championship, lasted a full four seasons and saw no fewer than five overall World Championship race wins, three as a Rebellion, and two as an Alpine.
Beyond that, there were no fewer than 19 other podium finishes, including three at the Le Mans 24 Hours.
Remarkably, the cars finished second in the WEC Teams Championship in every season they contested, albeit often against limited opposition.
The cars also scored six pole positions and posted fastest race laps six times too! Legend has it that, if not for a decision from the team based on the potential for a BoP ‘hit’, the car could have challenged for the fastest ever lap at Le Mans in 2020, as it was posting an astounding 3:15.822, allegedly on something other than a low fuel load!
Four chassis were built and only one of them served as both a Rebellion and an Alpine, the fourth was constructed in time for Le Mans in 2021 and only ever raced as an A480.
It will enter the history books as the only car to compete both in LMP1 and HyperCar, and as one of only two non-hybrid-powered cars to take a WEC win (alongside the 2012 Audi R18 TDI ultra).
Another remarkable statistic is that in the 35 starts for the cars, they only suffered two retirements – one an accident, the other mechanical, plus a single disqualification (ironically on the car’s debut!) with a skid block infringement.
