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Alfa Romeo’s lightweight 4C convertible made its world premier today at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show.
Like its coupe sibling, the 4C Spider is based on a carbon fiber monocoque chassis and uses a 1.75-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine mounted behind the passenger compartment. It delivers 237 hp, which in combination with 258 lb-ft of torque is more than enough to offer powerful acceleration thanks in large part to how little the car weighs.
“With a removable carbon fiber hard top the 4C Spider takes the Coupe’s supercar level of performance and technology and ‘opens it up’ allowing the driver to experience the incredible 4C from an entirely different perspective,” Fiat North America boss Reid Bigland said.
The car still relies on a six-speed twin-clutch transmission, but some small changes will arrive along with the convertible model. Alfa Romeo will offer a new “Akrapovic” dual-mode exhaust system with center-mounted tips at the rear with carbon fiber pieces surrounding the mouths. That exhaust will be available as an option late in the model year after the 4C Spider begins arriving in North America this summer.
In coupe form, the 4C is an especially focused performance vehicle with almost nothing but base essentials in the cabin and that is true with this car as well. It gets two composite framed sport seats, a stereo head unit, buttons to select the drive direction and a switch to pick the drive modes. The steering wheel is devoid of buttons and there isn’t even power steering, not that it’s necessary with the 4C.
Read more and images: Alfa Romeo 4C Spider Arrives in America » AutoGuide.com News
