Alfa Romeo 4C Officially Revealed Before Geneva Debut

[dem maser]

bloody italians!! confusing everyone......

 

[Emtee]

Do you think they're hoping to re-launch AR in the States?

[video=youtube_share;NmiSOkfjeGc]http://youtu.be/NmiSOkfjeGc[/video]

 

[conaero]

Take the stupid Texan music and replace with opera and that would be a very stylish add.

Engine needs better exhaust though way too quiet.

Looks good though.

 

[Andyk]

Just reading a piece in this months EVO....They have the concept next to the production ready car.....Those headlights on the production car are just bloody terrible......Like an aftermarket add on.......In fact EVO sums it up....They remind them of a wart on and otherwise perfrct face.......

In the interview they talk about prices...We know the launch addition is 52k but the standard car is looking to be around £43500 - They say they wanted to keep it as close to the 39k that it was suppose to be.

 

[conaero]

£39k I would have gone for it. I think they fumbled the launch edition with a price if £53k and put everyone off by bring too greedy.

 

[Andyk]

It's a stunning car Matt now let down but one small styling detail .... The headlights ...... It like a Max Power addition.................EVO do mention the price and the fact that it's more expensive than they thought it would be and will punters pay 52k for a toy wirth a carbon tub ......

Alfa are saying it will be bought by Alfa collectors........

Oh and that advert is terrible.......WOuld have liked to hear more of the sound of it but they it will be no Maserati V8 sound ............... I can not help thinking that Alfa would have been better off bring a 159 replacement to the market rather than another halo car.......But then what do I know....

 

[Andyk]

Interesting that the designers didn't like the new headlights either but the new design is lighter and saves weight............They also don't like the wing vents but were overruled by the engineers.

 

[CatmanV2]

Well that advert has me convinced that Mrs Catman want's one when we no longer have parents to carry around.

I particularly liked the cameo of all the historic Alfas at the end.

C

 

[v8chimp]

£39k I would have gone for it. I think they fumbled the launch edition with a price if £53k and put everyone off by bring too greedy.

Seems that Alfa have received far more orders than expected, around 300-400 for the UK market (only 55 available) similar for Germany e.t.c

Interesting if the standard car is going to be £43500, as I am guessing £900 to upgrade to the bigger wheels, £300 for colour coded mirrors, £250 for Xenon upgrade, £250 for the Carbon Upgrades and you don't have those imo ugly vents in the bumper.

I can't remember the other upgrades on the Launch Car but for me, the above would be what I would look for. Tempting.

 

[simonc]

Some committee has completely ruined the looks of the concept with those stupid lights and ridiculous mirrors

Its a deal breaker for me, was seriously considering one of these

Such a shame

 

[v8chimp]

Some committee has completely ruined the looks of the concept with those stupid lights and ridiculous mirrors

Its a deal breaker for me, was seriously considering one of these

Such a shame

There is an insider who posts over at AlfaOwner, apparently the reason was purely cost rather than someone thinking it looked better.

Due to the small build numbers and escalating costs, the lights had to use largely off the shelf Hella parts. There is the cost of type approval e.t.c

Wing mirrors I suspect again cost issue, so it was taken off the shelf.

 

[Andyk]

Some committee has completely ruined the looks of the concept with those stupid lights and ridiculous mirrors

Its a deal breaker for me, was seriously considering one of these

Such a shame

The wing mirrors on the concept were stunning and one of the details that helped me put my deposit down.........Also I liked the black carbon surround for the Alfa grill which gave it a more complete look at the front.....that has not gone......Again the designer wanted this to stay as well but apparently they had to leave off as they needed to get as much air to the engine as possible and this stopped it happening......

The other part for me is the interior.....Just shocking for a car thats going to cost 52k to start and then over 40k.......Again the concept looked great but the interior is just not special....EVO sat in the car and said the seats aren't 'sporty' enough and the heater dials look cheap for a 53k car......Wat they do like is the small steering wheel which feels good and the single centre LCD dash....

One thing is clear this car should be a great drive as it weights only 895kg....a Lotus Elise is 924kg and as someone who has owned these they are great fun.....The weight is impressive on the 4C as there is more equipment on the V4 as well...............Its clear that most of the money has gone on the carbon chassis and this has made a big difference...........but a good drive or not Alfa has missed an opportunity to have design one of the best looking small sports car on the market by messing with the very small detail......did we mention those light...!!!!.......Shocking....

 

[Andyk]

Oh and the bonnet doesn't come up like a normal one...To save weight you have to use a tool kit to remove...

 

[v8chimp]

The wing mirrors on the concept were stunning and one of the details that helped me put my deposit down.........Also I liked the black carbon surround for the Alfa grill which gave it a more complete look at the front.....that has not gone......Again the designer wanted this to stay as well but apparently they had to leave off as they needed to get as much air to the engine as possible and this stopped it happening......

The other part for me is the interior.....Just shocking for a car thats going to cost 52k to start and then over 40k.......Again the concept looked great but the interior is just not special....EVO sat in the car and said the seats aren't 'sporty' enough and the heater dials look cheap for a 53k car......Wat they do like is the small steering wheel which feels good and the single centre LCD dash....

One thing is clear this car should be a great drive as it weights only 895kg....a Lotus Elise is 924kg and as someone who has owned these they are great fun.....The weight is impressive on the 4C as there is more equipment on the V4 as well...............Its clear that most of the money has gone on the carbon chassis and this has made a big difference...........but a good drive or not Alfa has missed an opportunity to have design one of the best looking small sports car on the market by messing with the very small detail......did we mention those light...!!!!.......Shocking....

The heater dials are from a Cinquento, apparently they went around the Fiat/Alfa part bin weighing everything to see what was the lightest.

Looks OK from the pictures, would need to see in the flesh....(please!)

 

[simonc]

The wing mirrors on the concept were stunning and one of the details that helped me put my deposit down.........Also I liked the black carbon surround for the Alfa grill which gave it a more complete look at the front.....that has not gone......Again the designer wanted this to stay as well but apparently they had to leave off as they needed to get as much air to the engine as possible and this stopped it happening......

The other part for me is the interior.....Just shocking for a car thats going to cost 52k to start and then over 40k.......Again the concept looked great but the interior is just not special....EVO sat in the car and said the seats aren't 'sporty' enough and the heater dials look cheap for a 53k car......Wat they do like is the small steering wheel which feels good and the single centre LCD dash....

One thing is clear this car should be a great drive as it weights only 895kg....a Lotus Elise is 924kg and as someone who has owned these they are great fun.....The weight is impressive on the 4C as there is more equipment on the V4 as well...............Its clear that most of the money has gone on the carbon chassis and this has made a big difference...........but a good drive or not Alfa has missed an opportunity to have design one of the best looking small sports car on the market by messing with the very small detail......did we mention those light...!!!!.......Shocking....

I've had a succession of various Loti as well Andy, a lot of the attraction of the 4C was the low weight and elise like size and weight, my first elise bought in late 1997 was around the 700kg mark (prob 720) with MMC discs etc, the last was a 111R supercharged and charge cooled and nearer 800kg+. My Cat 7 R300 was hovering around 500kg!

One concern about the elise has always been the difficulty in chassis repair as it is bonded. This is also a real concern in a car with a carbon tub, I wonder if the insurance companies will wake up when the first few 4Cs get stuffed, as FWD converts drive their new 4C in a FWD style and interact with the scenery.

 

[Parisien]

So any sort of accident....written off?

P

 

[simonc]

So any sort of accident....written off?

P

Potentially yes if there is chassis damage. For new cars not so much of a problem as the replacement chassis cost in a valuable car makes the repairl economically viable. With used values this is less certain, the McClaren F1 is an exception as its so rare

Hopefully Alfa have made it modular and repairable, I doubt it though

 

[Andyk]

I've had a succession of various Loti as well Andy, a lot of the attraction of the 4C was the low weight and elise like size and weight, my first elise bought in late 1997 was around the 700kg mark (prob 720) with MMC discs etc, the last was a 111R supercharged and charge cooled and nearer 800kg+. My Cat 7 R300 was hovering around 500kg!

One concern about the elise has always been the difficulty in chassis repair as it is bonded. This is also a real concern in a car with a carbon tub, I wonder if the insurance companies will wake up when the first few 4Cs get stuffed, as FWD converts drive their new 4C in a FWD style and interact with the scenery.

My first Elise was also a 1997 with the rare MMC discs...A great little car...not the quickest Lotus I've owned but a very pure driving experience that would ensure a big smile around every corner.