The Alpine M63 was the first racing car from Alpine and was developed in 1962.
History and development of technology[]
The first drafts of the Alpine M63 came from Len Terry. Terry worked in 1962 for Colin Chapman and has been known internationally for the construction Lotus 33. Jean Rédélé contacted Chapman and Terry, as the idea of a separate race car became more concrete. Terry carried out some draft work, this was based heavily on the Lotus 23. The great aim of the Alpine was participating in the 24-hour race at Le Mans. 1963 saw the first M63 to be launched.
The French drivers Bernard Boyer and Richard Bouleau drove the car.
Now the fourth designer came on the scene, Marcel Hubert. Hubert, who was later responsible for the successful Alpine prototypes of the 1970s, gave the car the an aerodynamic body shape. The car had the engine mounted in the rear of the ccar behind the driver. With a 601-620 kg empty weight, the M63 was very easy to drive. The car was driven by a 4-cylinder Gordini engine. With only 996cc, the engine produced 95 hp. The top speed was 232 km/h. The first car, chassis number 1701, was derlivered a day before the technical inspection of the Le Mans.