Alfa 4C

[Little Lofty]

The coupe was going for over list last summer, so I don't think depreciation will be as bad as other Alfa's. The spider doesn't seem to be doing as well as the coupe, probably due to the even higher price.

 

[Lotiman]

I looked at one early last year, quite liked it and eventually drove an example in March of the same year, I think it was. Now I have to declare myself a committed Lotus fanboy since seeing the original S1 Elite in 1960 and have pretty much always had a Lotus something in my garage from not long after I started to drive.
Last year I was thinking of changing my beloved supercharged Elise and the 4C caught my eye as a possible replacement - until I drove it. I hated the car, not least the dead steering (as the op has mentioned), it was noisy as hell in the cabin and the exhaust note was almost an embarrassment. The car was very easily unsettled on anything less than a billiard table smooth road surface and, in my opinion, the damping was ill judged. And as for those hideous (now redesigned) headlights well, I couldn't have lived with those
I realise I was coming at this from the perspective of owning a Lotus which always has impeccable road manners, but I was so disappointed Alfa signed off the 4C where the steering, in particular, is so unresolved in what is, after all, intended as a sports car.
I just couldn't love the 4C and having tested a V6 Exige the following week, knew I was right to stay with Lotus, so ordered one to replace my Elise there and then. The driving experience between the two is like chalk and cheese.

 

[C240Sport97]

The car was very easily unsettled on anything less than a billiard table smooth road surface and, in my opinion, the damping was ill judged.

damping on later cars changed, and now much improved.

 

[Lotiman]

I'm sure one of their target market sectors was/is existing Lotus owners, so I was a little surprised they hadn't got this sorted from the off. I do love the idea of the carbon tub, being a bit of a 'carbon tart' myself, but I understand it is very little lighter than the Lotus aluminium tub and must be considerably more costly to produce which, perhaps, accounts for the high purchase price, even allowing for scaleable savings from within the Fiat organisation.

 

[John Jones Jr]

I do love the idea of the carbon tub, being a bit of a 'carbon tart' myself, but I understand it is very little lighter than the Lotus aluminium tub and must be considerably more costly to produce which, perhaps, accounts for the high purchase price, even allowing for scaleable savings from within the Fiat organisation.

My initial view on the carbon tub is that it's not required thus making it a bit of an extravagance for such as a car.

As a side note and of course I do stand to be corrected but I would be interested to hear a justification for the carbon tub on this overpriced Italian other than just marketing b0llox.

 

[Lotiman]

My initial view on the carbon tub is that it's not required thus making it a bit of an extravagance for such as a car.

As a side note and of course I do stand to be corrected but I would be interested to hear a justification for the carbon tub on this overpriced Italian other than just marketing b0llox.

Let's be honest, cars such as these are a pure extravagance and as such, no the carbon tub is not required. Of course it is nothing but marketing and they could very easily have produced a similar looking car more conventionally, probably even using an existing platform from a model within the Fiat group.

The carbon tub does, however, set it apart from the norm and gives it a bit of super car glitz, even though it is anything but a supercar. Personally, I love the idea of an all carbon tub on a relatively affordable sports car.

 

[C240Sport97]

the 4C Spider's weight is 999kg (with all fluids and 90% full fuel tank).

that's impressive in my book for a car that does 0-62mph in 4.5 secs, a car with heavy dual clutch transmission, a turbo engine and big brakes.

To achieve that weight, the alternative would have had to be an aluminium space frame .. perhaps the carbon fibre tub is cheaper to set up/design

 

[fab1975]

I have just had a look on the Alfa Romeo Italian website and the 4C Spider is available from € 75,000 0 £ 52,675. That price includes 23% VAT (or I.V.A. in Italy).

My own car would have been about 12% more expensive in Italy than in the UK though, mainly due to the higher VAT in Italy as well as the fact that the most expensive options (such as Burmester, pano roof and AMG pack) would have been available only singularly rather that bundled together.

 

[Lotiman]

the 4C Spider's weight is 999kg (with all fluids and 90% full fuel tank).
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that's impressive in my book for a car that does 0-62mph in 4.5 secs, a car with heavy dual clutch transmission, a turbo engine and big brakes.

To achieve that weight, the alternative would have had to be an aluminium space frame .. perhaps the carbon fibre tub is cheaper to set up/design

That's only a little bit heavier than the supercharged Elise, which has similar performance, although the Alfa is certainly better appointed inside. So it is possible to produce similar figures but using an all aluminium platform rather than carbon fibre.

There is no question that carbon fibre is an expensive solution and probably easier to justify on expensive supercars such as the McLaren where, to some extent, cost is superfluous. Much as I love the concept though, for me it is difficult to justify the cost on a slightly flawed car like the 4C. I'm still very glad it exists though!

 

[BIRMA]

Also the 4C doesn't have those enormous door cills that put a lot of people off. I am also a long term Lotus man having had the Moto Show 1972 Europa in Roman Purple bought for me by my dad and had a Lotus in one form or another since then.

 

[C240Sport97]

Elise has much more of kit car feel than the 4C

4C feels like a "proper" car

 

[Lotiman]

Elise has much more of kit car feel than the 4C

4C feels like a "proper" car

And so it should for all that extra dosh!

Still rather have the proper 'drivers car' though.

 

[BIRMA]

Elise has much more of kit car feel than the 4C

4C feels like a "proper" car

I and my fellow Lotus Anoraks say that they are only a nano hair away from a kit car, they were available in the early days as kit cars to avoid tax but that was a long time ago.

 

[C240Sport97]

I drove a 4C Spider for about 35 miles today (it had 20 miles on the clock!), with roof on and off.

Turns out that the 4C Coupe I drove 2 weeks ago has the racing pack with the stiffer suspension.

Spider has standard suspension. I was again very impressed (more so this time) by the damping and the suspension compliance over rough roads. Superb, firm but hardly ever crashy. The benefits of a stiff chassis no doubt.

Spider steering was a revelation too. It still tugs and seeks out cambers and dips, but it's a lot more 'manageable' and less 'violent'. It's less frisky, less frantic and much better resolved for UK roads .. no doubt much of the difference is due to the standard suspension. I came away thinking that the steering was perfect for the car .. chatty, alert and with decent feedback. The trick is to relax and grip the steering just enough so that you can control it when it does 'unexpected' things, and not so tight as to make it seem like you are fighting it, or it is fighting you. Flow with it while retaining connection and control, and it's great. Try to make it flow with you, and you end up having an unsatisfactory experience. With more seat time, I think I could grow to love it.

The other revelation is that the Spider's cloth roof means that it's much less boomy and noisy at motorway speeds than the Coupe -- the noise and echo effect simply seeps out through the roof. For me, the Coupe was borderline unacceptably loud and boomy, to the extent I found it annoying and uncomfortable. The Spider is just fine; still very raw and loud, but nothing annoying or uncomfortable, and in keeping with its character.

As it stands, my 2 main concerns are dealt with, and comprehensively.

Roof down, the wind noise is not too intrusive until you exceed 85mph, at which point it gets a lot wilder. But even then, for me, it's OK. Was a very windy day with lots of cross winds, so there was wind swirling all over the place. I imagine on calmer days, roof down will be a lot of fun without too much assault on your senses.

One thing I noticed roof down (but not up) is how close I am to the header rail .. around 6 inches. Which felt much too close initially, until I got used to it. Pushing the sunvisor towards the windscreen helped to reduce the slight feeling of claustrophobia. If I bought a Spider, I might want to remove the sunvisor altogether.

Strangely today, I noticed the pedals being more offset to the left than what I remember from the Coupe. It felt a bit awkward at first, but by the end of the drive, I no longer noticed it, and it didn't bother me.

The seat recline adjustment is limited. For me, it has to be on maximum recline. For some strange reason, the top of the instrument panel was slightly obscured today (not in the Coupe), but that is no doubt to do with driving position settings.

The dealer is finding out when the Akaprovic exhaust option becomes available.

I am that much closer to ordering a 4C Spider .. it's almost scary.

 

[Red C220]

Well, you've test driven two. To me that means you want one.

If you want one, go for it. What's the worst that can happen? You find you don't like it after some time and sell it.

I'm constantly looking for a nice Black on Black 560 SEC (there's a nice one on classic cars at the moment) as I've regretted selling mine for nearly 7 years now. As Jay wouldn't sell me his blue 560 I bought a new SL400 instead.

Is the Alfa any more absurd than a 1990 560 SEC which I'd strip to nothing and probably spend the best part of £20K + rebuilding?

Life's to short too short to faff around, you like it, you can afford it, what a lot of internet keyboard warriors think about it is irrelevant in reality.