The Renault AK is the world’s first Grand Prix-winning car, but it wasn’t racing as we now know it. Staged at Le Mans in 1906, the 64-mile route largely consisted of asphalt roads. The race saw 32 competitors starting at 90-second intervals. They drove six times a day over two days. The total race distance was 769 miles.
Renault entered three AK type vehicles with 13-liter 90 horsepower engines. An AK had a top speed of 93 mph, notable 110 years ago.
AK number 3A was driven by Ferenc Szisz who led the first day. Only 17 cars survived to run the second day. Szisz lead all the way, winning the competition in just over 12 hours – 32 minutes ahead of the next driver.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
Alpine’s Le Mans history
Alpine contested the Le Mans 24 Hours 11 times between 1963 and 1978, entering 55 works cars during that period. Apart from its victories in the Index of Thermal Efficiency in 1964, 1966 and 1968, and those in the Index of Performance in 1968 and 1969, Alpine scored seven class wins and – most notably – an outright victory in 1978 with the Renault Alpine A442B shared by Jean-Pierre Jaussaud and Didier Pironi.
From 1973, when the marque was taken over by Renault, a new set of targets allowed it to pursue outright victories. In 1976, the first Renault-Alpine of the Yellow Period qualified on pole position and set the fastest race lap. Two years later, the mission was accomplished with a landmark win in the 1978 Le Mans 24 Hours.
Thirty-five years on, in 2013, Alpine returned to Le Mans with the A450. As in the early years, the cars raced with blue bodywork and limited ambitions, in the LMP2 category. After a “learning year,” the team finished seventh overall and took a class podium in 2014.
In 2015, the Alpine A450b retired after an off-track excursion during the night, running third at the time.
On 19 June 2016, Alpine posted one of the finest victories in its history by finishing first in a field of 22 in the LMP2 class at Le Mans. Nicolas Lapierre, Stéphane Richelmi and Gustavo Menezes stood on top of the podium after sharing Signatech-Alpine’s #36 A46.