Not content with thrashing about in the McLaren P1, Steve Sutcliffe from Autocar kept in touch with the common man by thrashing about in an Alfa Romeo 4C on the track with two of its natural rivals, the Porsche Cayman and Toyota 86.
It turns out you may not have your pre-conceived ideas altered, but we expect you’ll still enjoy the journey to having your thoughts confirmed.
…the 8C Spider. And no matter how good or even brilliant the 4C is it will never sound like this! This video doesn’t make the most of the 8C’s flowing lines, but we’ll be surprised if you hear anything better than this all day. Strap yourself in, put your headphones on and turn the volume up to 11.
[Source: Marchettino]
In case you missed it over the weekend, Alfa Romeo is claiming a new Nürburgring lap record for its mid-engined 4C sportscar. No it hasn’t broken the 7-minute barrier; it hasn’t even broken the 8-minute barrier.
The 4C set a lap time of 8 minutes 4 seconds and according to Alfa, that’s the fastest time set at the Green Hell by a car with less than 250hp (186kW). To be fair it’s a pretty handy time, mixing it with the likes of the Audi R8 V8, BMW M3 (E92) and the Porsche Cayman S.
You can watch the full lap at AUSringers and Alfa Romeo’s press release championing their record claim can be read below.
The Alfa Romeo 4C recently had its turn to set a lap time on the Nürburgring. The result was a not too shabby 8 minutes 4 seconds. Although, keep in mind, that’s only four seconds faster than a Renault Megane RS 265 Trophy.
Pirelli didn’t want to miss its chance to join in the fun, either, and you’ll be pleased to know the 4C set this time on PZero Trofeo tyres. This clip gives us a quick look at the 4C on the Nordschleife—head over to AUSringers to watch the full lap.
[Thanks to Craig for the tip]
Everybody loves the Alfa Romeo 4C. And all of us have probably, at some stage, thought about buying one. So what would you think if us Australians could buy a 4C for $75,000? Hmm, an A45 AMG hot hatch or a rear-wheel drive sportscar?
The 4C has the potential to mix it with the exalted Porsche Cayman and for almost half the price. Of course the truth may bear some difference, but a $75K starting price was the word coming out of the 4C’s recent launch in Italy.
A sub-$80K price rumour has been on the cards for several months now. However, it’s always nice to hear such rumours continue as the local launch draws closer.
The 4C ‘Launch Edition’ is confirmed for Australia and is expected to be around $20,000 more than the regular model.
Limited to 1000 examples worldwide, 400 ‘Launch Edition’ models will be shared between Europe, Africa and the Middle East; 500 to the United States and the remaining 100 cars to be shared between the rest of the world.
We asked Alfa Romeo’s Australian contact for a comment on the $75K rumour. Our question and the official reply can be read after the break.
As you know the Alfa Romeo 4C was launched last week. Alfa did this by inviting a bunch of motoring hacks to Italy and threw them a set of keys. Initial thoughts via Top Gear were less flattering than perhaps we wanted. So what did Chris Harris think?
Well, we’ll let you watch the video of course, suffice to say he thinks the basic ingredients are right: “There’s something about a light, mid-engined, car that just feels right, isn’t there.”
The lights have been turned off at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show and the mammoth task of dismantling the huge displays has begun. To recap what you may have missed here’s a selection of 120+ pics reminding you what was on show.
The Top Gear website brings us one of the first proper reviews of the highly anticipated Alfa Romeo 4C. After a long gestation period the 4C now has to deliver upon its undeniable good looks. So, how does it fare?
The good: Its unassisted steering is terrific, its Brembo brakes are fabulous, and it has a colossal amount of grip. Turn-in on those relatively skinny 205-section tyres (235 on the rear) is also sensational. Snap the throttle shut abruptly on a high-speed corner and the 4C’s mid-engined configuration means that it’ll oversteer readily… On the endless up- and downhill hairpins of the Aosta valley, where we spent most of our time, it’s mostly well balanced and engagingly neutral, with some understeer to warn the unwary, and generally rides well, too.
The bad: The engine still feels strangely uptight, and simply doesn’t generate the sort of grunt the figures suggest… Throttle response is also frustratingly soggy… The ’box is even more distracting. Quite simply, you have to drive round it to wring the best out of the car rather than working with it.
The beautiful: There are no bad angles on this thing, and several bracingly good ones – head on it looks lower and meaner than the pictures suggest, while the rear three-quarters showcase a typically Italian interplay of curves and sinuously sculpted elements. A chap called Alessandro Maccolini designed the 4C, a name worth keeping an eye on.
Hmm, it’s not what you’d call the most enthusiastic response to a car the whole world wants to love. And we left out the disparaging comments about build quality.
We recommend you take the time to read Jason Barlow’s full review by following the source link below.
[Source: Top Gear]
Isn’t she beautiful! She, of course, is the stunning 4C sports car and Alfa Romeo has finally come good with official details. It’s all there for you after the break. Pictures, video and press guff.
A carbon fibre tub, bugger all weight, a centrally mounted engine just waiting to rev its tits off. All the ingredients are there. And, yeah, it’s rear-wheel drive as well.
Before you sink your teeth into it all the detail we’ll leave you with the key stats that show this car has the raw appeal to match its sex appeal.
We know you all love the Alfa Romeo 4C, and why wouldn’t you. It has all the ingredients to make it special. Low weight, decent power sent to the rear wheels and, well, just look at it.
And did you know you can choose from four different alloy wheel styles, from 17″ through to 19″ in size? Or that you can spec the brake calipers in one of four colours? There’s four different seat/fabric options too. Indeed, you’d think everything was in fours until you see the six external paint colours on offer.
It’s all there in the leaked brochure info we have for you after the break.
[Source: autoedizione]
The Alfa Romeo 4C has been named as the official safety car of the FIM World Superbike Championship. The stylish 4C will make its SBK debut appearance at Silverstone this weekend.
“Alfa Romeo is a proud sponsor of the FIM World Superbike Championship having been associated with the series for seven years now,” enthused Damien Dally, Head of Brand at Alfa Romeo UK. “As we prepare to launch the Alfa 4C here in the UK, it’s fantastic to be able to showcase this car to the public for a second time as it takes to the prestigious Silverstone circuit.â€
It’s taken us a while to prepare, but here’s your first instalment in our 2013 Goodwood Festival of Speed image gallery. We’ve got more than 260 images in all which will be spread out over three galleries.
Presented in alphabetical order, this selection of photos starts with Alfa Romeo and ends with Lotus. And doesn’t that Alfa Romeo 4C just look sensational!
Stay tuned over the next two days for the remaining galleries to be posted.
