Video: Onboard the Alpine A443 Around Circuit de la Sarthe
Hop on board the Alpine A443 for a blast around Circuit de la Sarthe with French rally legend Jean Ragnotti.
The Renault Alpine A443 is an updated version of the A442 which was introduced in 1975. The A424 was designed by Alpine to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans, a feat it would achieve in 1978 when Didier Pironi and Jean-Pierre Jaussaud put their A442B on the top step well clear of two Martini Racing Porsche 936s.
With a long wheelbase and further developed aerodynamic package, the A443 is a car designed to go very, very fast – particularly down the long Mulsanne straight. A 2138 cc version of the turbocharged Renault-Gordini motor found in the A442 is responsible for its propulsion, and does so with great gusto outputting around 520bhp. Hitting monstrous top speeds down Mulsanne, the A443 is known as one of, if not the, fastest cars that Renault has ever produced.
It raced with the works Renault Sport team in the 1978 24 Hours of Le Mans alongside an A442A and A442B. Patrick Depailler and Jean-Pierre Jabouille put the car second on the grid. During the race they were supremely fast and Jean-Pierre Jabouille would set the fastest lap, but an engine blow-up would put them out of the race 279 laps in. Happily for Renault, their A442B piloted by Jean-Pierre Jaussaud and Didier Pironi would go on to win the race.
The Renault Alpine A443 returns to Circuit de la Sarthe with another French legend, and 24 Hours of Le Mans veteran, Jean Ragnotti in this great video from the 2014 Le Mans Classic.
MORE: Video: Jean Ragnotti vs Jean Ragnotti – Renault Alpine
