469:. The upper control arms were not attached to the body but rather suspended on it, causing them to move with the body's sway. These control arms were equipped with "reaction points" located below their pivot axis in the frame and connected by two rods to an angular lever, causing their movements to be symmetrical. By properly placing the "reaction points", the movement of the frame and suspension did not affect the position of the wheels; the wheels always remained perpendicular to the ground regardless of the circumstances. In theory, the wheels were not independent but connected by triangulation; however, in practice, the tilt of each wheel was independent.
486:. At this stage, the car still had several relatively troublesome issues. During the tests at Zolder, where Bouleau was observing, the car's wheels appeared not to be spinning when viewed head-on. This peculiar behavior was so unusual that it caught the attention of a waiter from a nearby restaurant, who asked Bouleau how the illusion was created. This was related to the main goal of creating suspension resistant to swaying and changes in stability.
456:
radial tires used by Alpine, which no other
Formula One team was using. Bouleau's main hope, however, was his design of the so-called flat suspension, which was also being developed in the A220 and A221 models. The goal was to keep the wheels perpendicular to the ground regardless of the body's tilt.
373:
Richard
Bouleau was tasked with designing the car. He had designed his first car for a friend in 1962, and since 1963, he had been designing vehicles for Alpine. In 1965, Bouleau developed a concept for a flat suspension. Two years later, there were discussions about testing this solution, and the
505:
Upon learning about the A350's entry into the French Grand Prix, Renault forbade the team from using the
Renault-Gordini V8 engine. Renault's decision was driven by concerns over the brand's image and the performance of the Gordini engine. In 1969, Renault ceased work on the V8 engine and had no
481:
Bianchi first took the A350 to the track in the second half of April 1968, conducting a shakedown at
Michelin's test track in Ladoux. The car required numerous minor adjustments, but the team was encouraged by Bianchi's drive and decided to continue developing the model at the
472:
A strong point of the car was the braking system, featuring four ventilated disc brakes from ATE. The effectiveness of the brakes was explained by the design of the flat suspension: since the wheels were always perpendicular to the ground, braking was more efficient.
502:. The decision was driven not only by the desire to compete in Formula One but also to prove to Renault that Alpine was a legitimate racing team and to pressure them into building a competitive racing engine to replace the Gordini V8 unit.
497:
was held at the time. Bianchi claimed that the lap times achieved during this test would place him in the middle of the grid. However, the results could, in fact, be considered unsatisfactory. The team then planned to enter the car in the
346:, despite its issues. Meanwhile, the French government announced a competition with a monetary prize for the "completely French" constructor who could present the most interesting car project. The favorite was Matra with its
451:
compared to the 400 hp engines of
Cosworth and the 420 hp engines of Ferrari and Matra, Bouleau realized that to be competitive, the car needed to handle better than its rivals. One hope for achieving this was the new
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was chosen as the test platform. The car was constructed according to
Formula One regulations. Initially, the A350 was considered an experimental project and was built in strict secrecy, but driver
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The engine was called
Renault-Gordini despite Renault forbidding Rédélé from placing Renault logos on Alpine cars in 1965. However, Renault was heavily involved in the engine's construction.
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also wanted to participate with his V8 engine but did not have a suitable car. In 1968, Alpine agreed to collaborate with
Gordini, considering that Brabham drivers had won titles between
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Bianchi joined Alpine in 1964. At Alpine, he was not only a racing driver but also a tester and technician. His first task was to evaluate the capabilities of the prototype
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with a 1.1-liter engine, which he described as a "monster" due to its peculiar handling. Bianchi also raced for Alpine in
Formula 2, Formula 3, and the
398:, where the company fielded models such as the M64 and M65 for him. From 1967 to 1968, he worked on the secret projects of the A220 and A350 models.
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race, Bianchi stopped racing and focused on testing and developing cars. He returned to racing in March 1969, but after the death of his brother
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to the idea of entering the series, but due to
Renault's conservative stance, he did not receive the company's support, and the
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in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, he retired from racing and served as a test driver for Alpine until 1976.
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In the mid-1960s, Formula One underwent significant changes, including a new regulation that set the
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did not debut in Formula One at that time. Determined to enter the sport, Rédélé considered using a
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Alpine & Renault: The Development of the Revolutionary Turbo F1 Car 1968 to 1979
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engines). At that time, engine suppliers in Formula One included companies like
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sports cars. It featured an innovative flat suspension system and was tested by
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513:. All that remained of the car were the wheels and a fragment of the bodywork.
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The team was satisfied with the results and decided to continue testing at the
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tracks. However, the project was vetoed by Renault because the engine was 100
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convinced Jean Rédélé to attempt entering Formula One with the Alpine A350.
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with cars producing only 300 hp. Another reason was Alpine's success in
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Due to the fact that the engine's maximum power was 310 hp at 7,500
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Diepraam, Mattijs; Reyna, Rafael; Breevoort, Leo; Heymans, Jasper.
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The only built A350 prototype was destroyed a few months after the
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Alpine & Renault: The Sports Prototypes 1963 to 1969
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by Richard Bouleau in 1968. The model was powered by a
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534:Autocourse history of the Grand Prix car 1966-85
16:Former Formula 1 car designed for Alpine in 1968
320:even produced engines for their factory teams.
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457:To achieve this, Bouleau arranged the front
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465:, and the wheels were not parallel to the
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432:. The engine featured four twin-barrel
420:The engine had a displacement of 2,996
100:Flat design by Richard Bouleau, carbon
914:: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (
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506:intentions of entering Formula One.
820:"Grand Prix cars that never raced"
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933:Formula One cars that never raced
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850:(in French). 4 October 2008
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374:A350 model being built in
894:. Veloce Publishing Ltd.
401:After an accident in the
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689:"Alpine A350 • STATS F1"
536:. Hazleton. p. 20.
403:1968 24 Hours of Le Mans
77:Technical specifications
938:Alpine Formula One cars
511:1968 French Grand Prix
444:, came from Marelli.
300:, with teams such as
844:"Alpine A350 (1968)"
424:. The hemispherical
141:, 5 speeds + reverse
943:1968 in Formula One
890:Smith, Roy (2008).
824:forix.autosport.com
656:Smith, Roy (2010).
428:heads were made of
396:24 Hours of Le Mans
278:engine displacement
168:Competition history
24:
440:, which also used
54:Automobiles Alpine
671:978-1-84584-191-1
662:Veloce Publishing
500:French Grand Prix
491:Circuit Zandvoort
326:, the founder of
232:car designed for
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264:weaker than the
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19:Racing car model
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102:shock absorbers
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45:Richard Bouleau
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352:Amédée Gordini
336:Alpine F1 Team
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884:Bibliography
852:. Retrieved
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827:. Retrieved
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697:. Retrieved
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657:
533:
524:
508:
504:
493:, where the
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480:
471:
459:control arms
446:
419:
416:
400:
389:
372:
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282:turbocharged
275:
225:
223:
129:Transmission
875:Smith (2008
806:Smith (2008
787:Smith (2008
764:Smith (2008
737:Smith (2008
720:Smith (2008
695:(in French)
641:Smith (2008
622:Smith (2008
599:Smith (2008
570:Smith (2008
434:carburetors
324:Jean Rédélé
230:Formula One
226:Alpine A350
67: [
64:Alpine A500
41:Designer(s)
34:Formula One
23:Alpine A350
927:Categories
854:2024-08-02
829:2024-08-02
699:2024-08-01
517:References
348:V12 engine
342:-produced
96:Suspension
50:Production
910:cite book
530:Nye, Doug
368:Formula 3
364:Formula 2
344:V8 engine
258:Zandvoort
238:V8 engine
89:polyester
60:Successor
848:MOTORSdb
532:(1986).
454:Michelin
430:aluminum
426:cylinder
298:Cosworth
286:Maserati
162:Michelin
87:Tubular
29:Category
477:Testing
340:Gordini
332:Renault
314:Ferrari
306:Brabham
294:Weslake
272:Concept
252:on the
246:Gordini
242:Renault
137:DL200,
135:Hewland
118:Gordini
114:Renault
83:Chassis
898:
668:
540:
436:. The
413:Design
407:Lucien
386:Driver
376:Dieppe
328:Alpine
316:, and
296:, and
254:Zolder
234:Alpine
228:was a
199:F/Laps
139:manual
109:Engine
461:in a
318:Matra
310:Honda
302:Lotus
290:Repco
240:from
194:Poles
187:Races
157:Tires
71:]
916:link
896:ISBN
666:ISBN
538:ISBN
392:A110
366:and
360:1967
358:and
356:1966
304:and
256:and
224:The
190:Wins
146:Fuel
120:3.0
449:rpm
150:Elf
133:BV
929::
912:}}
908:{{
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664:.
648:^
629:^
606:^
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552:^
422:cc
370:.
350:.
312:,
292:,
288:,
262:hp
122:V8
69:pl
918:)
904:.
857:.
832:.
702:.
674:.
546:.
244:-
214:0
211:0
208:0
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