With electric cars encroaching further and further into the public consciousness, the world's sports car makers are busy trying to sort out just what will make a sports car a sports car 10, 20, or 30 years from now. Alpine thinks it has some ideas. Formula 1 tech? Check. Outrageous shapes? You bet. Fast? We'd think so given the heavily carbon-based architecture. But this supercar isn't electric. Instead, it's powered by hydrogen.

Meet the Alpine A4810. That number, by the way, is a nod to Mont Blanc, one of Europe's most iconic peaks, towering, you guessed it, 4810 meters above sea level. The best part? This concept was designed by the people who will live in the world this car will eventually inhabit: a handful of students from Turin's Istituto Europeo di Design (IED).

Unfortunately, this being a concept, there's really not much in the way of specs. We know it's got a hydrogen powertrain and that's about it. Thankfully, Alpine was kind enough to provide the dimensions, with the A4810 measuring 200"x79.1"x41.5". Really, that's not much bigger than a production Alpine A110. It's also not that much larger than the A110's chief competition, the Porsche 718 Cayman, which is only thirty or so inches shorter than the concept car. It's hard to imagine something roughly the size of a Toyota GR86 isn't going to be blisteringly fast.

Frankly, given the looks of the thing, it ought to be. The A4810 concept also keeps with much of Alpine's current philosophy: a Lotus-like approach to the sports car, where lightness and response are prized above all else. Stylistically, it certainly elicits a response. We see a bit of Mclaren 720 Spyder in the buttresses and some very clear Lotus Evija influence in the front and side pods. Neither of those are ugly, and this certainly isn't either.

As for the interior, well, it certainly looks like a concept hypercar. Only two occupants can be stuffed into this (supposing the concept has an interior to speak of), and the steering wheel is more Formula 1 car than Tesla Model S Plaid yoke. Like the exterior, the insides of the A4810 also make heavy use of carbon fiber, and screens are kept to a minimum. Really, the concept leaves more questions than answers.

How will Alpine make a hydrogen car relevant where so many have failed? And will the production car even look like this when it comes to be? We'll have to wait for the future to find out.