Alfa Romeo has had a long, fairly unsuccessful past with North America, but they have promised to come back in full force. In keeping their promise, they have just announced the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider at the North American International Autoshow in Detroit.
To refresh, the Alfa Romeo 4C is a small, mid-engined, two passenger sports car made from a carbon fiber monocoque. It is powered by a heavily turbocharged 1.7 liter four cylinder engine, putting out 237 hp and 260lb-ft of torque. That may not sound like much these days, but the 4C is one of the lightest sports cars on the market. Alfa Romeo claims a curb weight of only 2,194 lbs (995 kg). For now, the only transmission offered is a six speed dual clutch gearbox operated via paddles. This means that the 4C will accelerate 0-100 km/h (0-62 mp/h) in 4.5 seconds and will eventually reach a top speed of 258 km/h (160 mp/h).
When making the move from a coupe to a convertible, cars usually gain weight due to the addition of strengthening beams for rigidity purposed. As the car was designed with a convertible version from the get-go, the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider gains only 132 lbs (60kg). The stiff carbon chassis meant that only minor rigidity tweaks were needed. A manually operated soft-top was chosen over a complicated electric powered roof for the 4C for weight saving reasons, and promises to be fairly easy to operate. However, a removable carbon fiber roof will be an additional option later down the line.
The 4C coupe/convertible is the second product, after the gorgeous 2008 8C Compititzione, that Alfa Romeo has sold in North America since they pulled out of the market back in 1995. With it's beautiful, stylish design, the Alfa Romeo 4C looks to be a strong contender in a field with very strong competition.
Source: Jalopnik & Autoblog
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