Alpine A350 F1 car

Constructor	Alpine
Category	Formula 1
Squad	Alpine- Gordini
Designed by	Richard Bouleau
Chassis	Tubular with polyester body
Motor	Gordini 3.0 Liter naturally aspirated V8
Transmission	Hewland DL200 manual 5-speed
Weight	540kg
Fuel	Elf
Tyres	Michelin
Debut	French Grand Prix 1968
Drivers	Mauro Bianchi

The Alpine A350 was a Formula 1 race car created jointly by Gordini and Alpine at the request of Renault, produced between 1967 and 1968 and used in the 1968 French Grand Prix.

History

Driven by the French company Elf, Alpine decided to enter Formula 1 by building a single-seater in Dieppe and calling it the A350. Designed by Richard Bouleau and some Michelin engineers, it was equipped with an innovative semi-independent suspension system similar to the modern "push rod" with the front wishbones arranged in a parallelogram which reduced body roll and maintained the trim of the car flat when cornering. It was tested on the tracks of Zolder and Zandvoort by Mauro Bianchi and he himself declared that the car's handling was extraordinary. Powering the A350 was a 3.0-litre Gordini engine with V8 architecture producing around 310bhp.

While the car was about to be fielded for the 1968 French Grand Prix, Renault, which controlled part of Alpine, opposed its participation, judging the V8 engine supplied by Gordini not up to par with the other cars due to a lower power of about 100 HP compared to the contemporary Cosworth DFV used on most of the other single-seaters and that Formula 1 was not part of Renault's competition program plans. The project was therefore abandoned and the only A350 produced was subsequently destroyed.