[alfabecker]

An article from Veloce Today
Alfa Romeo 4 C On the Road

 

[John Ireland]

I think a scaled down version of the Touring Disco Volante (using the coming 350 hp inline 4) would be a better solution to a high performance Alfa Coupe. Mid engine was fun in the 70s and 80s but is really passe today. And with the engine in front of the driver there is room for the classic spare tire behind the two seats...plus much more. I have tried to fall in love with the 4C...and I am only 5' 9.5" tall and weigh 150 lbs...but I find the driver's position just too tight...I cannot get comfortable in the car.

 

[4Canada]

...
Mid engine was fun in the 70s and 80s but is really passe today.

#perplexed. What has the calendar to do with engine layout?

And with the engine in front of the driver there is room for the classic spare tire behind the two seats...plus much more.

So not the point of the 4C though, is it?

I have tried to fall in love with the 4C...and I am only 5' 9.5" tall and weigh 150 lbs...but I find the driver's position just too tight...I cannot get comfortable in the car.

Yes, that might be the problem right there.

The 4C is a superbike with sexy body panels, not a highway cruiser. Don’t compare or confuse the two.
Terms like “comfort”, practicality”, “storage” or “conventional” really did’t enter into its design ethos. Thanks be to God!

 

[Vivace]

An article from Veloce Today
Alfa Romeo 4 C On the Road

Good article.

"Those are the two words you need to remember, Sports Car. There aren’t many of them today. We have family movers, GT machines, and Hyper cars. The 4C is a Sports Car."

 

[John Ireland]

The 4C is an excellent engineering exercise...and a marketing tool. The Giulietta Spider Veloce is a sports car. The C1 and C2 Corvettes were sports cars. The Mazda Miata, the MGA, the first Datsun 240Z, the Porsche 914, the Triumph TR2 and TR3, the early Cobras, the 250 SWB Ferrari...etc., etc., were sports cars. You could pack them full of supplies, drive them to the track, tape up the headlights, race them all day, pack up your stuff and drive home. That is a sports car. The 4C is a high performance Diva. If I sound a bit grumpy I am...I'm saddened by the passing of the pure car.

 

[Vivace]

I see your point, but it's maybe more closely related to this....

But then how do you sell that in high enough volume?
That 4C chassis can be elongated - the engine cradle, front, and rear suspensions are mounted to alum subframes attached to the tub. They could continue to develop that car, with a 1750 motor for some oomph, with a slightly longer wheelbase and more storage space. Doesn't help the ****pit space, and it would cost too much to redesign the carbon tub I think.

 

[DanB]

The Mazda Miata, the MGA, the first Datsun 240Z, the Porsche 914, the Triumph TR2 and TR3, the early Cobras, the 250 SWB Ferrari...etc., etc., were sports cars. You could pack them full of supplies, drive them to the track, tape up the headlights, race them all day, pack up your stuff and drive home. That is a sports car. The 4C is a high performance Diva.

bwahahaha... The track is where the 4C really shines. Pounding on it lap after lap; 114° sitting over the tarmac. Other cars dropping out from overheating or cooked brakes, but all the registers on the 4C are normal. I gave out before the car did. I'd say Alfa's engineers really knew what they were doing.

 

[DanB]

"Those are the two words you need to remember, Sports Car. There aren’t many of them today. We have family movers, GT machines, and Hyper cars. The 4C is a Sports Car."

I think it's hard to classify the 4C. It's closest rival would be an Elise. It's the only other modern production car that is as raw and unfiltered as the 4C, perhaps even slightly more so. It's unfortunate they haven't sold them here for several years.

I guess the 4C would be an "exotic" sports car, but I don't know of any other current production car that is as visceral. Even the Miata and new 124 have become mini-GT cars. They are just too soft and numb.

 

[Peter A]

Having fun with my 4c, as soon as the weather warms I can’t wait to pack up my stuff, drive to the track, tape up my headlights, drive a mid-engine wonderfully responsive car, and then drive home. It doesn’t have a manual but the dct is a better match. This is a special one off car, won’t fit many but glad Alfa built it.

 

[John Ireland]

For all that own and are happy with their 4C, bravo and enjoy them. My problems with the 4C are the same that I have will all new cars, sports cars, gts, etc. If you can't understand what I'm referring to, or if you are in love with the digital age of automobiles, so be it. Put the 4C or the Lotus Elise next to a 246 Dino and you will see what they could have been.