So, is the Alfa Romeo 4C a supercar, as suggested by many?
writes Brian Byrne. No. Is it special? Yes, yes, yes!
Could I live with it? No. But then, it's not a car for living with. It's for dalliance. A mistress. Preferably a long term one. But also for occasional indulgence only.
Everybody turns their heads. Whether at the sound before they see it, or as the fleeting edge of beauty flashes in on their peripheral vision. Full on, the edge becomes unbounded full-blown automotive pulchritude, instant desire.
Is all that OTT? Maybe. But that's what the Alfa Romeo 4C does. At traffic lights, longing gazes linger, and follow the growl when the green lets it all go towards the distance. On the highway, overtaking will usually trigger a re-overtake as the passed driver tries for another close look.
Inside the car it's all sound, raucous much of the time, and a need to be on the move with some urgency to make the most of what's behind your shoulder. Which is the 1750cc engine pumping 240hp when you put it under the proverbial pressure. There's nothing refined back there, just power in the raw and automated shifting that doesn't try to be seamless.
Underneath in the review left-hooker, the Race Pack setup was pretty solid. But not the kind of thump and thud I rather expected. Right, I was being very careful to avoid the rougher patches on roads, having been warned that the 4C in this trim is very susceptible to having things knocked out of kilter by potholing or kerbing. And with just 11cm from the underside of the bumper to the tarmac, I took speed-bumps with real care. Still, it was far from uncomfortable even on Kildare's notorious back-road surfaces.
A heavy steering effort when stopped is because there's no power steering. A reminder of driving any car 50 years ago or even less far away. This saves weight, but Alfa also says the car is so well balanced that it just doesn't need assist. And true, once moving even very slowly, it all gets easy, with very direct steering well weighted into corners.
There's no shifter as such. Just four buttons on the console in a diamond pattern, for forward, reverse, neutral and auto/manual select. Essentially a 6-speed automated manual, with paddle shifting for those who take such things seriously. With a 0-100km/h potential of something less than 4.5 seconds, mucking with a clutch and stick might be fraught.
There are also four different drive modes, for normal, all-weather, dynamic or race, the last for those who like to live on the edge on tracks.
I did have a few laps of Mondello's track in the 4C a couple of weeks ago, and found myself getting quite at home in the car by the time I had to leave the circuit. And similarly, after a little time in the review car, I was at home in it too, noise and all. Getting in and out, though, is, well, an indecorous experience for somebody as tall as I. Once in, there's more than ample room.
Not for the long weekend for a couple, though. The boot is a pretty small space aft of the engine, and after my camera/computer bag there wouldn't be much capacity left. Guess that's not the point.
The structure of the car is a carbon-fibre tub, which makes it a very light car, and the power to weight ratio is very high. That means, apart from very swift acceleration, a surprisingly reasonable fuel consumption (all depending on how you take advantage of the performance, of course).
Fiat has owned Alfa Romeo since 1986. It's been a lossmaker for the group, but plans to increase production and sales five-fold are designed to make it a premium profit centre. The new 4C coupe is one of the new breed of cars from the brand, and just 3,500 units will be built each year.
After three days with the car here, I had thoroughly enjoyed the experience. But it was time to get back to the real world ... for a while.
Price in Ireland is €69,900.
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