The Alfa Romeo 4C was introduced in 2013, originally only as a coupe, with a spider being added in 2015. It was designed to maximize performance by minimizing weight, utilizing technologies usually found in supercars, yet employing them in a car that cost less than $100,000. The car is fitted with a carbon fiber chassis coupled with aluminum subframes, which together, weigh only 236 lb. The body is made of composite materials as well in order to keep weight down and the interior is relatively spartan, to further minimize weight. In all, the finished car weighs in at 2487 lb. To move the car around, it was fitted with a 1.75 liter turbocharged inline 4 cylinder, mid-mounted and mated to a twin clutch manual gearbox, controlled through paddle shifters mounted to the steering wheel. Shifting could also be controlled by the car’s ecu to simulate an automatic transmission. Steering was left non-assisted, increasing road feel while continuing to keep weight down. The 4C was the first mass produced Alfa Romeo to be sold in the US market since Alfa pulled out of the market in 1995. In 2020, however, production of the 4C stopped with somewhere around 9,000 cars being built, with Alfa Romeo deciding to shift away from sports cars and focusing on the other vehicles in their lineup. I originally attempted to buy one of the last Alfa Romeo 4Cs when I heard that production was stopping, however, was informed that I had already missed the boat and the only dealer in the state didn’t receive one of the final cars produced. Despite that, it remained on my list and after a friend purchased one, I had the opportunity to drive it, which pushed my conviction to find one. My 2016 Alfa Romeo 4C Spider was bought relatively locally from another Alfa Romeo enthusiast. In his ownership he upgraded the ECU, significantly boosting the car’s already stellar performance. The light weight, coupled with the high performance truly makes these cars feel like a race car for the street. Very few modern cars I have driven, even with similar weight to horsepower ratios, have felt as nimble and the only really comparable cars in the collection with similar feel to the handling are those made by Lotus, which in many ways is a good comparison as the general design ethos is very similar. From a practical standpoint, the car isn’t the most useful. As a spider variant, if you remove the fabric top and its associated mountings, it rolls up into a bundle that takes up a large part of the limited trunk space and without a back seat at all, the car doesn’t have anywhere to put anything else if you have two people in it. It isn’t necessarily the best highway car either. Suspension is quite stiff and the car is very responsive to slight variations in throttle input. All good features for the track but not as much on long, straight, boring drives. On the curves however, it is absolutely at home and an amazing car."
