For his weekly visit to YouTube Chris Harris drops in with a sports coupé comparison that everyone will enjoy. It’s the swooping drama and promise of the Alfa Romeo 4C up against the model all sportscars in this class aim to beat, the Porsche Cayman S.
So confident was Harris of the Porsche’s status he starts by asking: “Is there any reason why you’d buy a 4C over a Cayman at the moment?”
When I was a young lad my mum had a white Alfa Spider. One of the first car memories I have is sitting on her lap holding the steering wheel as we drove along, turning on the indicators and just having a fun time.
So for more reasons than this new 4C Spider “design preview” looks fantastic, I really like this car. I think my mum would too.
For the less sentimental among you, you’ll be pleased to learn the 4C Spider will go into production early next year and will feature a lightweight soft-top closing roof.
Of course, a low kerb weight is the party trick of the regular 4C and Alfa has obviously not wanted to undo all that good work with the Spider. Just when you got used to the CFRP acronym we’re introduced to a new one here, low-density SMC or Sheet Moulding Compound. More fancy plastic, in other words.
The SMC is used around the rear window area and is topped off by carbon fibre rollover hoop. Carbon fibre has been used to strengthen to the top of the windscreen as well. All up Alfa says the Spider is “approximately 60kg” heavier than the hardtop.
This design study features a dual stage titanium exhaust from Akropovic with carbon fibre tips for added bling. You get the same 1750 turbo four cylinder from the coupé and with the 6-speed dual clutch ‘box the Spider Alfa says it can reach 100km/h in 4.5 seconds, just like the coupé.
The other major change with the Spider is the introduction of a new and more conventional headlight design. It’s a much cleaner result, too.
Word on the street says Alfa Romeo will be bringing a 4C Spider to the Geneva Motor Show. It’s expected to have a removable roof panel, much like an old-skool 911 Targa, with carbon fibre rollover hoops behind the seats.
One of the rare weak points of the mostly very sexy 4C is the headlight design and it’s predicted that will be addressed on the Spider version as well. We call that a win, win!
We knew the Alfa Romeo 4C was in Australia for official Safety Car duties during last weekend’s World Superbike round at Phillip Island, but AUSmotive reader Chris got a nice surprise this morning when he saw the 4C on Bourke Street in Melbourne.
While the 4C does look at home on a race track, it also fits in quite nicely in Melbourne’s city streets. Thanks to Chris for sending in the pics.
The Alfa Romeo 4C doesn’t launch in Australia until later this year, but thanks to its role as the official Safety Car for the World Superbike championship you’ll be able to see one at Philip Island this weekend.
We wonder how many Alfisti will be making a special trip.
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.
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 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.