A Chinese EV and a French One-Off Just Proved Rally Tributes Are Having a Moment

Convergence is one of those weird things that happens in car design when two teams separated by continents and budgets independently arrive at the same visual idea. This time it happened with a pair of electric hatchbacks—one a bespoke one-off from France, the other a wild custom build from China—that both decided to wrap themselves in retro rally liveries and call it done.

The Firefly Storm Eye debuted first, rolling out at the 2025 Guangzhou International Automobile Exhibition in November. It’s the handiwork of APW (Active Planet Walk), a Chinese performance modification studio backed by EV maker NIO that got the bright idea to show off what personalization could look like on the Firefly, one of China’s quickest-selling electric city cars. Then, just a few months later, photographer and designer Oscar Molero dropped the Alpine A290 Tour de Corse—a one-of collaboration with Atelier Alpine Barcelona that reinterpreted one of Alpine’s most celebrated racing liveries onto Renault’s new all-electric hot hatch.

Both cars landed on nearly identical visual DNA: bright yellow mixed with black and white graphics, white alloy wheels, and rally-inspired LED treatments up front. But here’s where things get interesting—they’re actually telling two very different stories about where electric cars are heading.

The Chinese Play: Full-Send Customization

The Firefly Storm Eye is essentially APW saying, “Hey, look what you can do with an EV platform when you stop thinking like an accountant.” Beyond the paint job, this thing has a full carbon fiber bodykit with wide fender flares, a front splitter, side skirts, a rear diffuser, and an oversized wing that would make sense on a circuit if this hatchback had the power to justify it. There’s a custom roof rack, coilover suspension, and an interior that pairs white leather with yellow stitching and matching seatbelts.

The powertrain, though? Pretty humble. The Firefly’s standard 141 hp (105 kW) electric motor and 42.1 kWh battery stayed put. No upgrades, no wild tuning—just styling on top of a modest platform. It’s a fascinating approach: prove that you don’t need 300+ horsepower to make an EV look race-ready.

The goal here was pure flex—showing that Chinese automakers could take a cheap city car and dress it up for the Instagram era. And it worked. The Storm Eye looks purposeful, aggressive, and fun in a way that most production EVs never attempt.

The Alpine Approach: Historical Reverence Meets Modern Tech

The Alpine A290 Tour de Corse does something more respectful. Molero’s livery isn’t just inspired by rally aesthetics; it’s directly referencing the iconic 1975 A110 Tour de Corse rally car, the same design language Alpine brought back for the limited-run A110 Tour de Corse 75 special edition in 2022. The yellow reads as intentional homage, not trend-chasing.

And the car underneath actually has the chops to back up the drama. The Alpine A290 packs a front-mounted electric motor rated at 215 hp (160 kW) and 300 Nm (221 lb-ft) of torque, fed by a 52 kWh battery. That’s nearly 75 more horses than the Firefly, and it shows in how this thing would actually behave on a road or a track. The white “Snowflake” wheels with red brake calipers aren’t just styling—they’re functional references to performance.

This is a one-off, built by someone who clearly understands Alpine’s heritage and wanted to honor it while pushing the brand’s electric future. It’s not a showcar flex; it’s a love letter.

So Who Actually Nailed It?

The Firefly landed the public debut first, and credit where it’s due—APW created something genuinely eye-catching that proves you can make a modest EV platform visually exciting with enough carbon fiber and boldness. In pure styling terms, the Storm Eye is the more radical departure.

But the Alpine wins on substance. It carries actual historical weight. The livery traces directly to a specific moment in racing history, not just a vague “rally aesthetic.” The performance specs align with the aggression of the design. And the execution—designed by someone who clearly lives and breathes this stuff—reads as purposeful rather than pastiche.

Here’s the bigger picture: both of these builds landed at a moment when electric cars are finally confident enough to play with styling cues and historical references instead of hiding behind minimalism and soft curves. The Firefly proves that Chinese automakers are ready to explore wild personalization on electric platforms. The Alpine proves that European brands can marry electric drivetrains with actual motorsport heritage without looking ridiculous.

The real question is whether we’ll see either of these influence production cars. The Firefly’s modular customization angle could actually scale—Chinese automakers have proven they can bring show cars to market faster than anyone. The Alpine is likely to stay a one-off, which is fine; it was never meant to be a template. But it does prove that you don’t need an internal combustion engine to feel like a real race car. Sometimes you just need someone who actually knows what they’re doing behind the wheel and the design pen.

Sources: Carscoops