{"id":3904,"date":"2026-10-12T14:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-12T17:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/?p=3904"},"modified":"2026-10-12T13:55:58","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T16:55:58","slug":"geely-deal-to-save-alpine-wec-programme-collapses-in-major-2027-blow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/endurance\/wec\/geely-deal-to-save-alpine-wec-programme-collapses-in-major-2027-blow\/","title":{"rendered":"Geely deal to save Alpine WEC programme collapses in major 2027 blow"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">News Summary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Geely will not take over Alpine&#8217;s Hypercar programme for the 2027 WEC season<\/strong>, according to reports from France and the Portim\u00e3o paddock.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The deal had appeared close to completion, with Philippe Sinault recently saying a decision could arrive at any moment.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Signatech now faces the prospect of ending its uninterrupted WEC presence after 2026<\/strong>, although no official statement has yet been issued by Alpine or Geely.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Geely&#8217;s proposed deal to take over Alpine&#8217;s World Endurance Championship Hypercar programme has collapsed, leaving the future of Signatech&#8217;s endurance operation in serious doubt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">French outlet <em>Endurance-Info<\/em> reported on Monday that <strong>no programme will succeed the Alpine A424 operation in the WEC in 2027<\/strong>, after Geely decided not to proceed with the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Motorsport.com<\/em> subsequently reported that talks between the Chinese automotive group and Signatech had come to an abrupt halt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Neither Alpine nor Geely had issued a formal statement confirming the breakdown at the time of publication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The development represents a dramatic reversal. Only two weeks ago, Alpine team principal Philippe Sinault said he expected a decision <strong>\u201ceach day now\u201d<\/strong>, indicating that negotiations had progressed to an advanced stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>GRANDE PR\u00caMIO<\/strong> reported in August that <a href=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/endurance\/wec\/geely-eyes-alpine-asset-buyout-for-2027-wec-hypercar-entry\/\">Geely had emerged as the leading candidate to acquire Alpine&#8217;s Hypercar assets for a 2027 WEC entry<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The proposal would have allowed the Chinese group to use the <strong>Oreca-based Alpine A424 platform<\/strong>, with styling and branding changes followed by a new homologation process. Signatech was expected to remain responsible for operating the programme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"314\" src=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GEELY.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1020312384\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.9109231152027868;width:896px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GEELY.jpg 600w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GEELY-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GEELY-150x79.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Geely (Photo: Geely)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Signatech faces uncertain future after Alpine exit<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Renault Group has already decided to terminate Alpine&#8217;s factory Hypercar programme at the end of 2026. That decision left Signatech searching for another manufacturer capable of keeping its WEC operation alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Several Chinese companies were linked to the project, including BYD, but <strong>Geely became by far the most advanced candidate<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Representatives of the company reportedly visited Alpine&#8217;s facilities as the parties evaluated the technical and commercial structure required to convert the programme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Geely&#8217;s existing relationship with Renault also appeared to make an agreement particularly logical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The companies already cooperate on road-car and powertrain projects, strengthening expectations that the partnership could extend into endurance racing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But <em>Endurance-Info<\/em> reports that a decision was made on <strong>October 8 not to continue with the proposed programme<\/strong>. That leaves very little time for Signatech to find an alternative before entries close for the 2027 WEC season on <strong>November 26<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Alpine A424 could disappear from WEC after Monza<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If no alternative manufacturer emerges, Alpine&#8217;s final WEC appearance will come at the season finale in Monza on November 8.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The A424 programme has competed in the Hypercar category since 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Alpine scored its first overall victory with the prototype at <strong>Fuji in 2025<\/strong>, with Charles Milesi, Ferdinand Habsburg and Paul-Loup Chatin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The programme has also collected several podium finishes, although it has struggled to establish itself as a consistent challenger to the leading manufacturers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The uncertainty is particularly significant for Signatech. The French team has competed continuously in the WEC since <strong>2015<\/strong>, initially in LMP2 before moving into the top category with Alpine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A failed Geely deal could therefore bring an end to more than a decade of uninterrupted world championship participation. There remains a possibility that a new project could emerge at a later stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Motorsport.com<\/em> suggested Geely could theoretically reconsider endurance racing for <strong>2028<\/strong>, allowing additional preparation time instead of attempting to enter immediately in 2027. But there is currently no confirmation of such a programme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For next season, the situation now appears considerably more difficult: <strong>without Geely or another manufacturer stepping in quickly, Signatech and the Alpine A424 are set to disappear from the WEC grid.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The WEC continues at Barcelona from October 16-18. <strong>GRANDE PR\u00caMIO<\/strong> provides complete coverage at the <a href=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/endurance\/wec\/\">WEC hub<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Geely&#8217;s proposed takeover of Alpine&#8217;s Hypercar operation has fallen through, leaving Signatech facing the prospect of disappearing from the WEC grid after the 2026 season<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1020315906,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"42wp_featured_image_caption":"Alpine in Fuji","42wp_featured_image_credits":"Antonin Vincent\/DPPI","42wp_featured_video":"","42wp_featured_image_hidden":false,"42wp_authors_list":[{"id":48,"location":""}],"footnotes":"","42wp_breaking_news":false},"categories":[47],"tags":[202,263,807,50],"42wp_author":[48],"class_list":["post-3904","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wec","tag-alpine","tag-geely","tag-signatech","tag-wec","42wp_author-giovani-danjo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3904","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3904"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3904\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3905,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3904\/revisions\/3905"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1020315906"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3904"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3904"},{"taxonomy":"42wp_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/42wp_author?post=3904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}