Alfa Romeo’s Sexy New Sports Car, The 4C

Alfa Romeo 4C

Alfa Romeo was once a great and popular car maker. But it’s no secret that the Fiat-owned firm is suffering financial problems. When you go on the Alfa Romeo website, you can only see two new models on offer – the Mito and Giulietta. Fiat recently announced that they are investing 5 billion euros into the ailing car marque.

A total of eight new models will get introduced to the Alfa Romeo lineup, and one of those is the 4C. Fiat has also confirmed that they are bringing Alfa Romeo back to the United States. Alfa Romeo cars will get sold through existing Fiat dealerships.

The new Alfa Romeo 4C will cost $55,195 and will go on sale this fall in the United States. European Alfa Romeo dealers have also started to release prices and take pre-orders. So what will your fifty-five grand you? Today I review the sleek new 4C sports car.

History

The Alfa Romeo 4C was first unveiled back in 2011 at the Geneva Motor Show. It went on display as a concept car and is now in production at the Maserati plant in Modena, Italy. Up to 2,500 models will get produced on an annual basis.

Alfa Romeo's 4C got designed by their in-house styling center. The design features a carbon-fiber frame, and boasts lightweight aluminum front and rear ends. The chassis only weighs 143 lbs, and is a design akin to many supercars.

The entire car weighs just 2,194 lbs. And to keep the weight down, Alfa Romeo have decided not to fit power steering to the car.

Engine

According to the Thames Motor Group, there is just one engine choice for the 4C.

As standard, the car comes with a 1.7-liter 4-cylinder engine. It has a turbocharger fitted to it, and boasts an amazing 237 brake horsepower. It can propel the car from zero to 60 mph in a respectable 4.4 seconds!

With a car as light as the Alfa Romeo 4C, there isn’t any need to fit a bigger output engine thanks to the power-to-weight ratio.

Emissions are 157g/km, and it offers a combined fuel consumption of 35 mpg. The European version offers 42 mpg. But then their version is lighter. The US-spec is heavier due to safety strengthening requirements to meet crash testing rules.

Handling

Driving an Alfa Romeo 4C is a bit like driving a go-kart. It offers some awesome handling and is light and powerful enough to be agile.

The steering is heavy, but that’s because there is no power steering. Alfa Romeo have said that it will make the 4C feel more responsive. That is something I'm inclined to agree with them on.

What are the downsides?

There aren't too many downsides to driving and owning the Alfa Romeo 4C:

â-� Handling. The front end is much lighter than the back, and so extra care needs to be taken in wet weather;
â-� Limited rear visibility. If you want a sports car with panoramic rear views, buy the Spyder version when it's released;
â-� There isn’t much refinement. It is a sports car at the end of the day, not a tourer!

Are you buying an Alfa Romeo 4C soon? Let us know your thoughts on it!