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| Alfa Romeo is a car company in trouble and its hope rest on the new 4C |
IS this 4C the car to save Alfa Romeo?
For a select few hard-core enthusiasts the answer is yes.
For everyone else though, the answer is probably no, with a huge question mark over the Italian firm.
The reason is that for all the fuss around this 4C, Alfa Romeo is a car company in trouble. Big trouble.
In all of 2014, it sold just 5,523 cars in the UK and in the first half of this year it has sold just over 2,600 vehicles here.
Yes, hope is on the horizon for Alfa Romeo in the form of the new Giulia saloon arriving next year, but where does that leave this 4C?
At first glance, it might look like a small two-seater, front-engined coupé perfectly placed to take on the likes of the Audi TT; but it is not.
Instead, this is a mid-engined, cutting edge sports car in a similar vein to the likes of the Lotus Exige.
It boasts a lightweight, carbon-fibre base (the same hightech material used in Formula One cars), an all-new highly tuned turbocharged engine, supercar-like performance and a £51,500 price tag.
Yes, you read that price correctly. £51,500. This 4C is one of the most technically-clever and advanced cars to arrive in years, not just from Alfa Romeo but from almost any car manufacturer.
All very impressive and worthy, but is that what Alfa customers really want? That price tag alone puts it up against heavyweights such as the Exige and Porsche Cayman. Then there is the question of those looks.
It has certainly grown on us with familiarity, but there is no doubt that the 4C divides opinions, especially with its multi-point headlights and wide stance. What is not easy to get across on paper is just how small this Alfa is. It is a truly tiny car and while it boasts some lovely and varied lines, they are packed into a very compact shape making it look fussy from some angles. The oddities do not end there either.
Just over the driver’s left shoulder through a narrow window is the 4C’s engine, not a high-capacity V6 as with rivals, but a relatively tiny new 1.75-litre.
However, thanks to the addition of a huge turbo, it boasts 240bhp, which is enough to get the 4C from 0 to 60mph in just 4.5 seconds and on to a 160mph top speed.
Average fuel economy is good at 41.5mpg as are emissions at 157g/km, both impressive given that pace.
Those figures are thanks in large part to that carbon-fibre base, meaning that it tips the scales far lighter than most cars at this level. Well, we say at this level but the reality is that the 4C is quite unlike most other cars on the road.
Make an ungainly climb over the wide sill, drop down into the cabin and you are immediately struck by just how spartan it is.
There are floor mats, but otherwise no carpet, there is bare carbon-fibre everywhere and the dash is made of harsh rough plastics. There is also a tiny stereo with a removable front (when was the last time you saw one of those?), but the reality is that it is redundant as it can barely be heard above the noise of the engine. That is your first hint at what is to come.
That and the lack of power steering underline that this is definitely not a car that most drivers will be prepared, or want, to drive on a daily basis. The steering lightens up once on the move but initially the deluge of information coming at you is somewhat overwhelming.
Every rut and bump in the road gets fed straight through your hands and you can feel the tyres chasing the camber of the road as well as any imperfections.
The standard twinclutch automatic gearbox is not at its most refined or smoothest in heavy traffic either and the Alfa is most at home on clearer, more open roads.
With less congestion in the windscreen ahead the 4C becomes an entirely different beast, though the acceleration is fierce with that turbo whooshing behind you like a vacuum cleaner turned up to 11.
The steering is direct and lively and there is no question that this is a car that demands all of your attention all of the time.
Yes it is fast, yes it is fun, but it is surprising how fast it becomes tiring.
The simple reason is that even the Alfa’s more extreme rivals know that keeping up that level and type of driving simply is not possible throughout every journey.
The general assault on your senses from every angle: the noise, the concentration levels required and that steering make it nothing short of exhausting. After one two-hour drive, we could not get out of it fast enough.
The lack of almost any nods to practicality only restrict that appeal still further.
All of which is a shame, because in many ways, the 4C could be a great car and a great opportunity for Alfa, but it is hard to know what that is.
It is almost as if Alfa blew the budget on the carbon-fibre base and did not have anything left over to develop the rest of the car. Answering a question that nobody ever asked, it is simply too much of a niche car to rescue Alfa from the dilemmas it finds itself in. The hunt continues for Alfa’s saviour
For everyone else though, the answer is probably no, with a huge question mark over the Italian firm.
In all of 2014, it sold just 5,523 cars in the UK and in the first half of this year it has sold just over 2,600 vehicles here.
Yes, hope is on the horizon for Alfa Romeo in the form of the new Giulia saloon arriving next year, but where does that leave this 4C?
At first glance, it might look like a small two-seater, front-engined coupé perfectly placed to take on the likes of the Audi TT; but it is not.
Instead, this is a mid-engined, cutting edge sports car in a similar vein to the likes of the Lotus Exige.
It boasts a lightweight, carbon-fibre base (the same hightech material used in Formula One cars), an all-new highly tuned turbocharged engine, supercar-like performance and a £51,500 price tag.
Yes, you read that price correctly. £51,500. This 4C is one of the most technically-clever and advanced cars to arrive in years, not just from Alfa Romeo but from almost any car manufacturer.
All very impressive and worthy, but is that what Alfa customers really want? That price tag alone puts it up against heavyweights such as the Exige and Porsche Cayman. Then there is the question of those looks.
It has certainly grown on us with familiarity, but there is no doubt that the 4C divides opinions, especially with its multi-point headlights and wide stance. What is not easy to get across on paper is just how small this Alfa is.
Just over the driver’s left shoulder through a narrow window is the 4C’s engine, not a high-capacity V6 as with rivals, but a relatively tiny new 1.75-litre.
However, thanks to the addition of a huge turbo, it boasts 240bhp, which is enough to get the 4C from 0 to 60mph in just 4.5 seconds and on to a 160mph top speed.
Average fuel economy is good at 41.5mpg as are emissions at 157g/km, both impressive given that pace.
Those figures are thanks in large part to that carbon-fibre base, meaning that it tips the scales far lighter than most cars at this level. Well, we say at this level but the reality is that the 4C is quite unlike most other cars on the road.
Make an ungainly climb over the wide sill, drop down into the cabin and you are immediately struck by just how spartan it is.
There are floor mats, but otherwise no carpet, there is bare carbon-fibre everywhere and the dash is made of harsh rough plastics.
It is almost as if Alfa blew the budget on the carbon-fibre base and did not have anything left over to develop the rest of the car
That and the lack of power steering underline that this is definitely not a car that most drivers will be prepared, or want, to drive on a daily basis. The steering lightens up once on the move but initially the deluge of information coming at you is somewhat overwhelming.
Every rut and bump in the road gets fed straight through your hands and you can feel the tyres chasing the camber of the road as well as any imperfections.
The standard twinclutch automatic gearbox is not at its most refined or smoothest in heavy traffic either and the Alfa is most at home on clearer, more open roads.
With less congestion in the windscreen ahead the 4C becomes an entirely different beast, though the acceleration is fierce with that turbo whooshing behind you like a vacuum cleaner turned up to 11.
The steering is direct and lively and there is no question that this is a car that demands all of your attention all of the time.
Yes it is fast, yes it is fun, but it is surprising how fast it becomes tiring.
The simple reason is that even the Alfa’s more extreme rivals know that keeping up that level and type of driving simply is not possible throughout every journey.
The general assault on your senses from every angle: the noise, the concentration levels required and that steering make it nothing short of exhausting. After one two-hour drive, we could not get out of it fast enough.
The lack of almost any nods to practicality only restrict that appeal still further.
All of which is a shame, because in many ways, the 4C could be a great car and a great opportunity for Alfa, but it is hard to know what that is.
It is almost as if Alfa blew the budget on the carbon-fibre base and did not have anything left over to develop the rest of the car. Answering a question that nobody ever asked, it is simply too much of a niche car to rescue Alfa from the dilemmas it finds itself in. The hunt continues for Alfa’s saviour
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