Alpine Alpenglow Hy4 is an ICE four-pot with 335bhp – and powered by HYDROGEN

The Alpine Alpenglow Hy4 is revealed as a fully working concept using a modified ICE engine powered by hydrogen.

It’s become received wisdom that the only future for cars is an electric one (which is not right) and that ICE cars will disappear in the coming decades completely.

Apart from the fact that motorists are already baulking at buying expensive – and expensive to insure and repair EVs – it would be more sensible to let car makers build and deliver the EVs the market wants and keep ICE alive with hybrid help. And keep Western car makers in business.

Of course, the likes of Toyota and Hyundai have for years been proclaiming that Hydrogen-fuelled cars are the future, but, again like EVs, the cost is high and the infrastructure for refuelling woeful, has hampered their acceptance.

Alpine – Renault’s ‘Sporty’ off-shoot – has different ideas, and showed the Alpine Afterglow Concept back in 2022 as a hydrogen-powered ICE. And now it’s back as the Alpine Alpenglow Hy4 (with the ‘Hy’ bit signifying Hydrogen and the ‘4’ bit its four-pot engine).

The Afterglow Hy4 is a fully working, rolling test bed that will make its debut this weekend at Spa Spa-Francorchamps complete with looks which have changed a bit – including a proper two-seat cabin – with a 2.0-litre ICE engine at the back goof for 335bhp and revving to 7,000rpm and powered by hydrogen (mixed with water).

Alpine says they expect hydrogen-powered ICE to be a big part of future motorsport,  and it’s not hard to see a similar setup being viable for road use.