Alpine will bring together more than 70 years of its French sports car history at Chantilly Arts & Elegance Richard Mille on September 13, with a one-off collaboration with Lacoste serving as the centerpiece.
The unusually named “Beware of the Crocodile – Alpine Lacoste A290 Rallye” will participate in the event’s Concours d’Élégance, where contemporary concept cars and special creations are traditionally paired with fashion presentations. Alpine will also display the car at its event stand alongside historic models and cars belonging to Alpine customers and clubs.
Held on the grounds of the Château de Chantilly north of Paris, Chantilly Arts & Elegance combines a traditional concours with contemporary automotive design, fashion, art and French lifestyle. That makes the setting particularly appropriate for an Alpine created in collaboration with one of France’s best-known fashion brands.
BEWARE OF THE CROCODILE
The Alpine Lacoste A290 Rallye is a one-off interpretation of the competition-oriented A290 Rallye, pairing Alpine’s electric hot hatch with design elements referencing Lacoste and its familiar crocodile emblem.
Red provides the central visual theme, inspired specifically by the tongue of the Lacoste crocodile. The treatment carries from the exterior into a dramatically red cabin incorporating Lacoste’s petit piqué textile, the material closely associated with the company’s polo shirts.
Alpine says no fewer than 290 crocodile references have been incorporated into the car.
Underneath the special presentation is the A290 Rallye, Alpine’s competition derivative of the electric A290. Compared with the road car, the Rallye uses widened tracks, upgraded brakes and competition-specific management of its electric powertrain.
The Lacoste version doesn’t fundamentally reinvent that mechanical package. Instead, it treats the rally car as a design object, using its competition hardware as the foundation for an exercise combining motorsport and fashion.
Visitors will be able to see the car on the Alpine stand before it takes part in the Concours d’Élégance presentation.
70 YEARS OF ALPINE
The A290 won’t be Alpine’s only presence at Chantilly. The manufacturer is bringing a selection of heritage cars representing more than seven decades since Jean Rédélé founded Alpine in 1955.
Specific historic cars in the display have not yet been identified, but Alpine says the collection will illustrate the development of the marque across its 70-year history. Cars supplied by Alpine owners and clubs will further expand the display.
That should create an interesting contrast with the electric A290. Alpine built its reputation around exceptionally light sports and competition cars, most famously the A110 that won the inaugural World Rally Championship for Manufacturers in 1973. The revived marque is now transitioning toward a broader electric performance-car range while maintaining the modern A110 as a link with that lightweight sports-car tradition.
Chantilly provides a particularly French setting in which to put those two eras alongside one another.
A CONCOURS WITH A DIFFERENCE
Chantilly Arts & Elegance Richard Mille has developed a distinctive identity among European concours events since its launch in 2014.
Its Concours d’État brings together significant collector automobiles, while the Concours d’Élégance focuses on contemporary concept cars and one-off creations presented alongside fashion. A large gathering of automotive clubs forms another component of the event.
All of it takes place around the Château de Chantilly and its parkland, approximately 50 kilometers north of central Paris.
For Alpine enthusiasts, the 2026 edition offers an opportunity to see considerably more than the headline A290. The combination of Alpine’s factory heritage display, owner and club cars and the one-off Lacoste creation should effectively provide a compact survey of the marque from Jean Rédélé’s early sports cars to its emerging electric era.
Chantilly Arts & Elegance Richard Mille takes place Sunday, September 13, 2026, at the Château de Chantilly in Chantilly, France.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Additional Information
Event: Chantilly Arts & Elegance Richard Mille
Date: September 13, 2026
Location: Château de Chantilly, Chantilly, France
Distance from Paris: Approximately 50 km / 31 miles north of central Paris
Featured Alpine: Beware of the Crocodile – Alpine Lacoste A290 Rallye
Appearance: Alpine display and Concours d’Élégance presentation
Additional Alpine Displays: Heritage vehicles spanning the marque’s 70-plus-year history, plus Alpine club and customer cars
Event Format: Concours d’État, Concours d’Élégance, automotive clubs, fashion, art and lifestyle displays
Alpine/Lacoste Collaboration: One-off vehicle based on the electric Alpine A290 Rallye
Notable Details: Red-themed interior, Lacoste petit piqué fabric and 290 crocodile references
Official Alpine Information: Alpine Lacoste A290 Rallye
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