If you are excited by gizmos like so-called smartphones that allow you to do dumb things – like take a picture of your dinner and share it – then you will be unimpressed with the Alfa Romeo 4C coupe.
The 4C is a tasty sports car like sports cars should be. It rides modern technology - an F1-inspired, carbon-fibre monocoque chassis and a general stripped-to-the-essentials simplicity - to this wonderful and pure place: a stupendously light two-seater that darts and dashes with precision. It is a gem and a dream come true.
So if sitting in Starbucks playing with your apps is a turn-on, then stop reading. But if you would rather live a real life than a virtual one, this is the high-end sports car for you.
The 4C is worth every penny. Sure, the base model lists for $64,495, nearly $5,000 more than a starter Porsche Cayman. But you get an ideally balanced, mid-engine rocket powered by a turbocharged 1.75-litre, all-aluminum, direct-injection four-banger (237 hp/258 lb-ft torque). Perfect.
Because this shockingly low-to-the-ground, nasty little piece of business weighs just 1,118 kilograms, it will roll from 0-100 km/h in 4.1 seconds. By comparison, the 1,310-kilogram Cayman is pudgy and slow (0-100 km/h is about a second slower), laden with creature comforts for sissies or poseurs, not those committed to a raw and real driving experience.
In short, the 4C is the ideal halo car for Alfa Romeo in the early stages of its $5-billion (U.S.) rebranding by Fiat-Chrysler. Alfa aims to be revived as an iconic, high-performance, slightly quirky brand producing cars with stylish and imaginative Italian design. From Italy, and built in Italy.
If the plan is to reinvent Alfa's former glamour and style, the 4C is perfect. The only drawback is that a picture of this car might be the closest many admirers will get for many months to come. Word is the 4C has an 18-month waiting list. The Maserati factory in Modena where the 4C is produced is limited to a production run of about 3,000 cars a year.
Will buyers wait for this state-of-the-art sports car? Those who do will raise hosannas for the snappy, twin-clutch, paddle-shifted six-speed automatic gearbox, as well as the composite-framed cloth seats, three-spoke, flat-bottomed steering wheel and aluminum racing pedals.
You'll like this car if ... You want a pure sports car with razor-sharp handling and stylish Italian design.
TECH SPECS
- Base price: $64,495
- Engine: 1.75-litre, four-cylinder turbo.
- Transmission: Six-speed, twin-clutch automatic.
- Fuel economy (litres/100 km): 9.7 city/6.4 highway, using premium fuel.
- Alternatives: Porsche Cayman, Lotus Elise.
RATINGS
- Looks: Low and sexy, the 4C is a small, snarly little two-seater with its turbocharged motor nicely on display amidships through a glass panel.
- Interior: Alfa types say this low-slung gem has a purpose-built cockpit inspired by the legendary 1967 33 Stradale. This means pure and unadorned, with lightweight but supportive cloth seats framed in carbon fibre and only the necessary readouts and controls.
- Performance: Agile, with precise and sure responses, top speed is 258 km/h, 0-to-100 km/h comes in 4.1 seconds and it will pull 1.1 Gs of side acceleration on corners and 1.25 Gs of maximum braking deceleration. Oh, my.
- Technology: Here we have a state-of-the-art carbon-fibre monocoque and aluminum structure, and a high-performance turbocharged engine. The Alfa Romeo D.N.A. System (Dynamic, Natural, All-weather) allows you to dial up responses through a selector.
- Cargo: Borrow someone’s van for moving and shopping.
The Verdict
9.0
A pure high-end sports car with bold looks and astonishing responses.
The writer was a guest of the auto maker. Content was not subject to approval.
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