Italy’s mid-engined two-seater
reaches production. TG reaches fever pitch
This is the Alfa Romeo 4C. As in the Alfa
Romeo 4C. Not another concept, but the very mid-engined, rear-drive coupe
you’ll be able to buy this summer. Bar a gentle tweak about the headlights,
though, the production 4C remains impressively faithful to the concept we first
saw two years ago.
The
4C is as wide as a Porsche Cayman – the car soon to become its arch-nemesis but
39cm shorter and 11cm lower
And impressively squat, too. The 4C is as
wide as a Porsche Cayman – the car soon to become its arch-nemesis but 39cm
shorter and 11cm lower. It may be small, but there’s a lot of tech squeezed on
board. Built in Maserati’s Modena plant, the 4C is constructed around a full
carbon tub – traditionally the preserve of top-end supercars like the McLaren
12C with aluminum front and rear sub-frames, all skinned in a new lightweight
fiberglass.
Alfa’s
DNA drive select gets new Race mode
Which means it’ll be light, likely sneaking
under the one-ton mark. Though Alfa hasn’t revealed official performance
figures, it has confirmed a power-to-weight ratio of over 250bhp per ton. So if
the 4C tips the scales at 950kg, it’ll be making around 240bhp from its
turbocharged 1.7-litre four-cylinder. The base 2013 Cayman, with its naturally
aspirated 2.7-litre flat-six, makes 271bhp and weighs 1,310kg: that’s 207bhp
per ton. Interesting.
Control
system
The 4C’s 1.7 a poshed up, all-aluminum
version of the unit in the Giulietta Cloverleaf, with a ‘scavenging’ system
that Alfa promises will virtually eliminate turbo lag drives the rear wheels
through Alfa’s TCT gearbox: no manual available here. Sure, a double-clutch
transmission is good for the 0 - 60 time – we’re expecting the 4C to nail the
sprint in around 4.5 secs but is it right for a car promising ‘maximum driving
satisfaction’? We’ll find out soon, but this much we know: if it’s going to
overhaul the new Cayman, the 4c has its work cut out.
The
4C’s 1.7 a poshed up, all-aluminum version of the unit in the Giulietta
Cloverleaf, with a ‘scavenging’ system
