Renault Sport officially rebranded as Alpine Cars

The iconic Renault Sport name has been officially retired, with the French carmaker announcing that its Renault Sport division has been renamed Alpine Cars as of May 1. This will see Renault models such as the Megane RS and Clio RS wearing Alpine badging in the future, although there is no indication yet of what naming convention will be adopted and whether the associated RS badging will be dropped.

The name change follows on the creation of the Alpine business unit announced in January under the automaker’s ‘Renaulution’ transformation plan. Under the new business, Alpine, Renault Sport and Renault’s motorsport division going under the same umbrella. The Renault F1 team has already been rebranded as Alpine F1 this season.

There are no changes to the operational scope of the division, which is already engaged with the development of its future 100% electric Alpine range that will be underpinned by the Renault-Nissan CMF-B and CMF-EV platforms. The range will also include a new sports car model being developed together with Lotus.

Despite the directional shift and rebranding, the company says it will not abandon existing RS customers and the network, with the teams in place continuing to provide support for these. Meanwhile, Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi said the name change fell in line with the consolidation strategy outlined for the brand in January.

“As part of the re-organisation of the Renault Group by brand, it is essential that the various entities that make up the business unit bear the Alpine name and embody the values and ambitions of the brand. Alpine aims to be a premium sports brand at the forefront of innovation and technology. Alpine Cars, with its expertise and experience in sports vehicles, is a master card in achieving our goals,” he added.

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