Lacoste and Alpine unveil a collaboration inspired by French ingenuity, where performance meets elegance

Rooted in the visionary legacies of René Lacoste and Jean Rédélé, the collaboration gives rise to two exclusive creations: Beware of the Crocodile – Alpine Lacoste A290 Rallye and a capsule collection. Two complementary expressions of a shared vision of sport, where innovation is always placed at the service of movement, emotion and style.

The collaboration also comes to life through Le Test, a film produced by Ninety Films, co-founded by Pierre Niney, Lacoste ambassador, starring Niney alongside Pierre Gasly, BWT Alpine Formula One Team driver and Lacoste ambassador. Playing themselves, the two personalities bring to life an encounter that is as unexpected as it is full of complicity around the one-off Beware of the Crocodile – Alpine Lacoste A290 Rallye. Blending humour, composure and a playful spirit, the film extends the story of the collaboration and offers a distinctive expression of the alliance between performance and elegance that unites these two French icons.

The result of a creative dialogue between the design and engineering teams of both Houses, the one-off is built on a deliberately radical technical foundation: the Alpine A290 Rallye. This deliberate choice reflects a desire to move beyond a simple styling exercise and create a genuine automotive object, born directly from motorsport.

As the most extreme and highest-performing version of the future A290, the A290 Rallye provides the ideal platform to express an uncompromising vision of sportiness. Developed for customer racing, it embodies Alpine’s commitment to electric motorsport and represents a new generation of performance: more compact, agile and accessible.

A meeting between two French pioneers

Passionate competitors and inventors at heart, René Lacoste and Jean Rédélé each transformed their respective disciplines through a singular approach combining technical excellence, creativity and a constant pursuit of lightness.

The two French brands were born from a shared vision: pushing the boundaries of performance while cultivating functional elegance and the constant pursuit of lightness. On the courts and on the racetrack alike, they have built their identities around the same balance of innovation, precision and desirability.

Today, their respective legacies come together through a spectacular creation: the Alpine Lacoste A290 Rallye, accompanied by a capsule collection that brings this shared spirit into the wardrobe.

Beware of the Crocodile – Alpine Lacoste A290 Rallye

At the heart of the collaboration is a one-off creation born from a creative dialogue between the design teams of both Houses.

Named Beware of the Crocodile – Alpine Lacoste A290 Rallye, the one-off car draws its inspiration from one of the most iconic elements of the Lacoste identity: the red tongue of the crocodile. This iconic detail becomes the starting point of an immersive concept that runs throughout the entire vehicle.

On the outside, the one-off model reinterprets the codes of rally cars through a more contemporary and graphic design language. Widened tracks, pronounced wheels, prominent wings, a spectacular diffuser, roof air intake, imposing spoiler and exposed carbon express radical sportiness, distilled to its essentials.

This architecture is based on technical fundamentals derived from competition: a chassis optimised for rigidity and precision, specific suspension developed for rally use, widenedtracks that promote stability and grip, and functional aerodynamic work designed to improve cooling and downforce at high speed.

Designed for performance, the A290 Rallye stands out with specific management of its electric powertrain, delivering immediate response and strong acceleration from the very first input — a key advantage in rallying.

It also benefits from dedicated electronic settings that help maintain a consistent level of performance, even in demanding conditions. The package is completed by a reinforced braking system and a setup focused on driving precision, delivering reliable, efficient and easy-to-exploit handling on all types of terrain.

Conceived as a car shaped in a workshop by motorsport enthusiasts, it returns to the very essence of driving pleasure. A genuine rally car, reimagined through Lacoste’s stylistic lens. The light signatures are revisited as a nod to the crocodile’s gaze, while numerous graphic details scattered across the bodywork reflect the joint work of Lacoste and Alpine’s creative teams.

The exterior shade, a bluish white inspired by Alpine landscapes, evokes snow, ice and frost. Its particles create a subtle texture that reinforces the vehicle’s technical and mineral expression.

An immersion into the Lacoste universe

Inside, the experience shifts into an immersive monochromatic red environment, as though the driver were literally stepping inside the crocodile’s mouth.

This intense colour heightens the senses, awakens instinct and accompanies the driver in the pursuit of performance. At the rear of the cabin, a crocodile lying in wait appears to be chasing the clock, while the driver becomes a true «Crocopilot», in search of the perfect line.

Lacoste’s emblematic petit piqué fabric dresses the seats and door panels. The embroidery is crafted by Potencier, the historic workshop behind the famous embroidered Lacoste crocodiles. A shared Alpine x Lacoste logo, treated as a bas-relief, punctuates the interior. The cabin plays on the contrast between technical surfaces and more enveloping materials.

Structural elements receive a red anodised treatment, while the rally seats incorporate parts produced using 3D printing by ERPRO. This technology makes it possible to use lattice-type structures combining lightness, comfort and performance, fully in line with one of the founding convictions of both brands: achieving performance through intelligent design.

This approach is part of a broader effort focused on weight reduction and functional optimisation, both essential in rallying, where every kilogram and every vehicle response has a direct impact on performance.

Finally, multiple subtle references to the crocodile appear throughout the vehicle, extending the inventive spirit that characterises this collaboration. The vehicle also incorporates 290 crocodiles throughout its design.

A collection inspired by the court and the circuit

Echoing the vehicle, Lacoste and Alpine unveil a capsule collection that brings together the worlds of the court and the circuit.

Polos, T-shirts, lightweight technical pieces, accessories and co-branded creations combine sporting elegance, functionality and technical savoir-faire. Designed to accompany movement, the collection translates into the wardrobe the values shared by both Houses: performance, lightness, precision and style.

Through this collaboration, Lacoste and Alpine celebrate a distinctive vision of French design, where innovation always serves a purpose, performance is placed at the service of emotion, and elegance accompanies movement.

“Lacoste and Alpine share the same culture of innovation, shaped since their origins by pioneers convinced that performance is born as much from ingenuity as from mastery of detail. By bringing together our respective legacies, expertise and creative standards, we have imagined a project that celebrates French ingenuity through a shared vision of performance and elegance.” Eric Vallat, CEO of Lacoste

“The Alpine Lacoste A290 Rallye embodies the meeting of two French brands that share the same taste for movement, precision and boldness. In the spirit of Jean Rédélé and René Lacoste, two passionate individuals who became references in their fields, Alpine and Lacoste celebrate a form of performance that goes beyond speed. This collaboration blends the technicality of competition, the lightness of design and the elegance of timeless style. A car designed for the track, but with a true aesthetic signature.” Antony Villain, VP Design Alpine.