viernes, 2 de noviembre de 2012

2014 Alfa Romeo 4C Spy Photos




2014 Alfa Romeo 4C Spy Photos


The affordable Italian mid-engined sports car inches closer to production.


OCTOBER 2012 BY JENS MEINERS MULTIPLE PHOTOGRAPHERS

What It Is: Believe it or not, proof of the Alfa Romeo 4C, which we first saw in concept form at the 2011 Geneva auto show. This is a running prototype, and it looks every bit as exciting as the show car. The doorsills are simplified and the rear window seems to have slightly grown, but that’s about it as far as changes go, from what we can tell. Thank you, Alfa, for staying true to a wonderful idea.


Why It Matters: The mid-engined 4C will spearhead Alfa's latest plan to return to the U.S., and it will be an eminently important car for the brand's global image, as well. The brand's diminutive lineup of vehicles has become stale, but the 4C promises to serve as a convincing foundation for a reinvigoration of the lineup. For sports-car enthusiasts, the 4C could bridge the gap between the Subaru BRZ/Scion FR-S and the Porsche Cayman.


Platform: The 4C will use an entirely new mid-engine platform. Details are sketchy, and we hope that the high-performance, lightweight approach of the concept remains intact. That concept, for instance, made liberal use of aluminum and carbon-fiber chassis elements. If, as claimed for the concept, the weight remains below 2000 pounds, Alfa engineers will have pulled off a triumph.


Powertrains: The 1.7-liter four-cylinder turbo that will power the 4C comes from the Fiat Group’s corporate parts bin; it will be coupled to a six-speed dual-clutch automatic. The engine's power output still is a mystery, excepting the rather vague claim that it will have more than 200 hp. We expect the actual figure to be well north of 250. That power will be routed exclusively to the rear wheels. We do know that the 4C's top speed will be around 155 mph, while the sprint from 0 to 60 mph is said to take less than five seconds.

Competition: Porsche Cayman, Scion FR-S, Subaru BRZ.

Estimated Arrival and Price: Look for the production-ready 2014 4C to make its debut some time in 2013, with Alfa beginning to take orders earlier in the year. Deliveries should start in early 2014, and we expect stickers to start around $45,000. But given the brand's history of broken promises, we’re not breathing easy just yet just yet