It is a phenomenon that has been gaining momentum in recent years in the automotive world: “Art Cars”, unique cars developed by brands in association with artists for the occasion. At Renault’s flagship Alpine, Mathieu César’s A110 Monochromatic is the fourth such design, following Felipe Pantone’s A110 S in 2021, the Obvious collective’s A110 Sastruga in 2022 and Arne Quinze’s A110 Metamorphosis in 2023. “This is a trend among premium car brands,” explains Antony Villain, Design Director at Alpine. “There are some great collaborations at Mercedes or BMW, who also make Art Cars. Alpine is the last French motorsport brand. And being French also means having an alternative sense of culture and creation, trying to think out of the box, knowing how to create bridges between the arts, between talents and creators. French creativity is renowned in fashion and design. In the automotive world, in the end, we were a bit orphaned.”
“It’s another impulse and I think it’s another way of visualizing the automobile,” adds Stéphanie Petit, Head of the Color-Material Studio at Alpine. “With the arrival of the electric vehicle, we’re going to need to have very strong products, and collaborations with artists, for me, are essential. This process allows us to look for things that are not at all in the automotive register, it allows us to be more creative.”
The Alpine A110 Monochromatic by Mathieu César, a fashion photographer (Louis Vuitton, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac) and portrait photographer (Pharrell Williams, Daft Punk, Angèle, Lana Del Rey), who is particularly fond of black and white, thus sports the iconic design of the A110 S, sublimated by the power of monochrome, transposed by the Alpine design team. On the outside, the car is dressed in a black and white gradation on the body, with the aluminum body and front and rear sections in gloss black. Inside, the white upper section contrasts with the black lower section. 3D printing was chosen to bring lightness and transparency to the backrests and door medallions. The white-to-black upholstery refers to the gradation of the exterior. Last but not least, aluminum interior elements such as the A110 Monochromatic console decor, a plate and specific door sills complete the design. “There are a lot of aluminum parts on the car, which is Alpine’s know-how,” says Stéphanie Petit. “And what best highlights this material is black and white. So we worked everywhere with this theme. We have a whole graphic and technical universe that is linked to the brand’s identity, and which ultimately is Matthieu’s graphic universe.”
This black-and-white identity accentuates the slender curves of the car, inspired by the legendary sedan, while highlighting the power contained under its hood (300 hp, 0-100 km/h in 4.2 seconds, power-to-weight ratio of 3.7 kg/hp). “This collaboration was a dialogue between two arts: Mathieu’s photographic universe and our automotive know-how,” explains Antony Villain. “It represents a perfect fusion of our shared vision of performance and elegance. The creation of the A110 Monochromatic is not just a question of materials and textures, but also of passion and emotion.”
Shared stories
There are indeed common emotions between motorsport and photography, although driving a car at high speed can be more dizzying. But first, there’s a human and personal story behind the coming together of these two worlds. “To begin with, I’m an Alpine customer,” says Mathieu César. “I own the Berlinette and the 110. Then, I grew up next door to the Alpine factory, in Dieppe, Normandy. Then I met Antony Villain, someone who really likes photography. I think we share a common approach to images. We were more interested in imagining the car as a portrait, imagining a car we’d like to photograph, rather than the car having any real connection with photography itself. I was more interested in making an Alpine that looked like me and that I wanted to drive, that was monochromatic, rather than an Alpine that I would put on display.” “It’s true, I’m passionate about photography myself,” responds Antony Villain. “Personal photos, but also photos for Alpine: at the start of the brand’s renaissance, I did the official photos. We’d go on road trips and I’d take the pictures. They ended up in brochures, in magazines… I linked my two passions and realized how difficult an art it is: everyone can take photos today, but not everyone is a photographer.”
During this collaboration, Mathieu César not only actively participated in the creation of the car, but also photographed it during and at the end of its conception. His first shots reveal the stages of production at the factory, the various parts of the car, with an uncommon eye, as shown by this intriguing image of the seats that seem to draw faces. His second images, which are more in keeping with classic sports car imagery, nevertheless play on shadows, light, contrasts and a few daring framings to create a very atypical series, in black and white of course. Mathieu César explains, “My world is above all made up of childhood passions and references, which I perpetuate and try to bring to life through my mainly black-and-white shots. Cars are the result of human ingenuity. The object brings people together while remaining universal. That’s the aim of our Monochromatic project with Alpine’s designers.”
Nor is this the photographer’s first experience of the industrial world. In early October, he released a book entitled Chronicles from Earth, published by Delpire in collaboration with Arianespace, the French rocket and satellite launch company. An unusual project, the subject of a journey into space with the Ariane 6 rocket, with a documentary look, sometimes scripted, often intimate, that projects the echo of a humanity both serious and childlike into the great book of space. “Here, too, it was a meeting of two different worlds. I’ve always loved mixing art and industry. It’s always an honor to realize these projects. The collaboration between a brand and an artist is really something humanly surpassed.”
Mathieu César’s Alpine A110 Monochromatic was unveiled at a launch party in Paris on November 22, in the presence of Zinédine Zidane, who has been the brand’s ambassador since 2023, with a very specific role in everything to do with equal opportunities. “Initially, I met Laurent Rossi (Alpine’s Managing Director) and his team at a Grand Prix, and that’s where it all began,” the former footballer, now coach, told RMC Sport that year. “They had a project to promote equal opportunities for young people at Alpine, and that interested me. I had a bit of time too, and it’s important to highlight interesting projects. I also want to share my experience. When I was a kid, I was given a chance, and that speaks to me. This project is about sport and passion, and we have a lot to talk about.”
At Alpine, inclusiveness and success for all are reflected in several initiatives. The first is called Racer, a program designed to promote young women in motor racing, giving them equal opportunities to win and then go on to compete with men in Formula 1. The second is a competition for mechanical excellence, giving young people from large cities’ suburbs and all over France the chance to join the Formula 1 team for an internship. Among other things. “These are the kinds of things that really interested Zinédine Zidane,” says Antony Villain. “In fact, Zinédine came to spend the day with us today in the design department, and he’s very curious. At Alpine, we cultivate that; we’ve loved collaborating with artists since the beginning. We make incredible encounters. For me, these are absolutely sublime breaths of air.”
More information on Alpine and the A110 Monochromatic here.
Follow Mathieu César’s work on his Instagram account.
