After the confirmation of Renault’s refusal to power the Alpine in F1, the 2026 engine project, already well advanced, could serve as a basis for GM engineers to develop the Cadillac engine.
The work accomplished by the engineers and technicians of the Renault Sport factory in Viry-Châtillon will perhaps not be classified as profit and loss, despite management’s decision to cease F1 engine activity on its site.
The RE26A is perceived by all internal teams as a great success, a well-born engine, with strong potential and performance objectives that are perfectly achievable within the allotted time frame.
On this laboratory engine, the first start of which took place at the end of June, almost a third of the performance concepts, previously validated on the system bench, are still absent but planned for introduction before the end of 2024.
Schedule respected
“The target was to start the Alpine 2026 engine at the end of the first half of 2024, i.e. a year and a half after the genesis of the project, confirms an internal source. On June 26, 2024, the RE26A, the name given to the first version of the AR26, carried out its first start-up on engine bench no. 6 at Viry-Châtillon, thus respecting the targeted schedule.”
It seems that the green light has been given to continue the development of this engine, either as part of the monitoring unit announced by management, or with a view to transferring the intellectual property of the V6 turbo hybrid to a third party.
A shortcut for Cadillac
According to our colleague Joe Saward, Cadillac has expressed its interest in acquiring the rights in order to accelerate the design of its own power unit intended for a potential Andretti Global team in Formula 1.
The GM group has an entity specialized in competition engines in its North Carolina factory where the naturally aspirated V8s intended for LMDh Chevrolet prototypes in WEC and IMSA are developed and maintained, but of a concept quite far from the needs of F1.
Recovering the Renault 2026 engine would constitute a shortcut to quickly rise to the level of competition within the framework of the new regulations even if the candidacy of an eleventh team with the support of General Motors under the Andretti banner is not yet guaranteed.
