Supercar Looks, A Carbon Tub, & Hatchback Running Costs: Why Did Nobody Buy The Alfa Romeo 4C?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 พ.ค. 2020
- Today in my series on affordable dream cars, I am re-examining the Alfa Romeo 4C. Everyone had high hopes for the car, but when it released many of the petrolhead journalists saw it as a poor relation to the Lotus Elise - despite costing a lot more!
With help from my buddy Steve, and @Stef ABtv let's take a quick look at the little Alfa supercar.
Want to see your car on the channel? Email me on talk@jayemm.com
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When people used to get to mid life crisis...they bought a two seater...now they buy a Porsche SUV. Sad times.
I got to my mid life crisis and get myself New VW Touareg. Such fantastic looking and amazing to drive, tech packed suv. I love it!
@@spk8989pl ew
It is a vw suv with porsche badge.
@@spk8989pl That's no way to enjoy driving, my friend.
I can't afford a mid-life crisis . . .
I love mine. It’s full-on, totally immersive and plenty fast enough for the road. So many negative comments. These are beautiful things now and absolute guaranteed classics down the line.
Fair play. Great little car👍
I’m 1,9m tall. Will I fit?
why are these shit on but alpine a110 so loved?
I opted for a Lotus instead because I wanted stick and a bit more power.
300HP and a manual and they would have sold at least twice as many.
Down what line? they will be ornamental by 2040 due to the fossil fuel ban, so I don't know what's going to happen to the classic car market, what's the point in having a car you can't drive unless you dump a telsa motor set up in them.
Car guys: WE WANT SPORTS CARS!
Alfa Romeo: Here ya go...
Car guys: Ew we don't want it.
Sad isnt it? A world filled with suvs, soy boys and mobile phones glued to people hands!
The problem with it was this: it was too much money for what it was. The Miata is a better driving experience, at less than half the cost. For the $$$ they were charging for the 4C, they needed to put in more good stuff. The mid-engine Corvette base model costs less than did the 4C, and includes so many more useful features and refinements.
Had the 4C been available new around $40K, it likely would have sold much more.
I have one of these, and since I don't go driving every car to see how bad or good this car is, I am good with it. I think it is a great car for the price, I love boosted applications, Lotus Elise might be a good car but I think it is not as flashy as the 4C and it should does not turn as many heads as the 4C does. In addition, another guy said that the 4C steering was not as connected to the road as the Lotus Elise. well! let's talk materials. the 4C is carbon fiber which in the long run will buffer shearing and bending and will buffer from the some road feel. It is the nature of it as opposed to any other materials. Kind like in triathlons, An alluminium Cervelo triathlon bike vs Trek Carbon fiber one along a 112 mile race, you will feel different. Cervelo will make you feel your teeth vibrating more over every pebble you hit but not the Trek. Having said that the steering on the 4c is very tightly coupled and where you put that steering wheel is where the car goes. In addition, a car is balanced an aligned for a particular terrain and if you are heavier than the weight it was aligned or balanced for and you will have a very different behavior in handling but don't blame it on the car. All of these
reviews are cool and fine but when you come out pretending to be an expert when you are not, that is miss leading and unfair. I say this because not a single one of these guys have specified the caster, camber and weight the car is aligned for when they borrowed these cars. I would, first hand, tell you whether I had it aligned or not. I would also tell you and log in at what speeds, I took these curves and when the tires lost their grip. In reality this reports are just a matter or preference which I respect. My preference is that I love the 4C and while I have rented many sports cars and driving them for 600 miles before I can get a good feel for how they respond, I have not done it in a way that I can be fair to handling. I would have to go to the circuit of the America's and learn how to push these cars around the track and record their times and speeds. Peace out people of you tube and enjoy.!
Cars guys: we are just going to buy used 3 series and mod them, thanks!
@@Gk2003m you cant compare a miata to a 4c lol
In the flesh, it’s one of the most beautiful cars in any class manufactured after 2000.
Facts!!!!!
@Scott Sophia this is a sport car for sporty drivers, not a limo for pigs.. For those which can't fit inside, does exist bmw X6m.. go for it.. will look as a sport coupe with a huge sea elephant behind the wheel 😂😂.
ps: if the worked HARD to keep LIGHT weight of that superbe alfa, OBVIOUSLY they don't imagine a huge animal of 150kg on the driver seat.
pps: if the most intensive pleasure of your life is EATING.. stick with it, let sporty driving for others.
V8 Vantage!
@Scott Sophia I think you need to go on a serious diet if you can't fit in. Unless you're excessively tall and wide, there's plenty of space.
@Scott Sophia Maybe a diet is in order?
Internet car talk: everyone wants light weight sports. We don't care about power.
Reality: I want a car to brag about not drive
I didn't want to pay $70k for only $50k worth of performance.
@@c.f.1133 depends how you define performance. What car is faster around a circuit at that price?
@@dagnut at $70k? Corvettes. 718s. Some hot hatches. Lots of cars really, including mustangs and Camaros.
@@iluvcakes19 around a circuit? No chance!
@@dagnut this isnt the 1960s, all the cars he listed are for sure faster around a circuit
I love your videos, Jay, but I have to say your intro music makes me feel I'm about to watch a Disney channel special
WOW, i couldn't disagree more, esp now with the super dull one but i'm guessing this is UK vs Canada and the little differences in what we both listen to on average. funny.
I like the intro music, it's got that great 80s vibe going on.
Actually pretty reliable. Way more than people give it credit for, it's a great car
Loved the concept. But it was rushed to the market underdeveloped and was usually delivered to the customer criminally unfinished. Didn't look that great, was too wide, sounded and drove horribly, was too expensive. A very special car (in a special needs kind of way).
@@bulversteher You hit the nail on its head here. Good summary.
The MC20 is the rebirth priced as a Maserati, because it was made by Maserati. It costs a lot to get its regular carbon tub bolt tightening.
I have a 2015 4C Launch Edition bought new. Has been dead reliable and a blast to drive. Lots of upgrades if you want to play with suspension, more power, etc. but dead stock it is impressive....although the stock tires hold it back and cause tramming. Set front to to 0 or a bit of toe in and it makes s huge difference. Compared to other sports cars it is pretty cheap to maintain but it isn't Chevy or Ford cheap....but that goes out the door when you go for a drive in the twisties.
People fail to notice that in this cars early days, Alfa were scoring higher reliability ratings than BMW.
Old clichés stick around, whether true or not.
You can get very low mile examples for $40-50K in the USA. Absolutely worth the money. Simple 4-cylinder engine, good looks and a carbon tub. Very few electrical gizmos to go wrong.
the 4c is a stunning car! Very beautiful, very fast, very italian! It's perfect for fun driving and for track. You dont't like it? That's ok! Need Something practical? Buy the Caymen. Need to go with the mass? Take an M3. Want to impress your mother-in-law? Here's your Audi. You are much faster? Congrats!
There is more than one way to enjoy our life, choose yours! We love to go with our brilliant and emotional italian cars. The 4c is one of them, I still love it after years of ownership. It is breathtaking. Tank you Alfa for this stunning peace of Art 🍀
"Very fast" is a stretch. It's slower than a Supra, and the Supra is significantly cheaper
Want something fast for the track, buy a radical. Want something fast and light for the road, buy a lotus elies. Want something fast and Italian, buy a Ducati. Want a 4c, buy therapy.
@@lokibrux true
you are blind as being in love mate
Loki Brux a lotus Elise is not faster than this car on any road. The only advantage the lotus has is manual gearbox for driving pleasure, dynamically and performance wise the 4c eats the lotus everyday.
Daily drove a Rosso competizione red coupe for 14,000 miles over 2 years - loved every minute
Amazing car, have a convertible one atm
My favourite modern Alfa, it’s a real shame they weren’t more popular.
I’m glad they weren’t more popular. Nothing worse than seeing loads of your favorite cars everywhere once you buy one
Guila foligio
@@TregTube until you need spare parts...
@@mro9466 very true indeed. It’s at this point where true petrol heads excel, and “enthusiasts” sell up and buy an Audi or something usually in my experience
Love my 4c!
I simply upgraded the areas that I thought were lacking. I had the entire center console wrapped in leather with red stitching and it looks factory. Custom Black Aluminum A/C controls along with some other interior areas were upgraded to carbon fiber. I also bought an aftermarket ecu to get some more horsepower. She's definitely a head turner and a blast to drive.
Thanks for the comment. Where did you get the leather work done?
Yeah, I want to know as well.
@@robinchina471 A guy named Lars on the 4cforums does it.
It's a car you have to love to own it. To me it's an "affortable" dream car.
it fucking Alfa Romeo ..... affortable at first and hell to own...
@@campkira They are obviously not known for being the most reliable cars on the market but can you give Alfa a break? They have created some wonderful machines such as the 155 Ti V6, 33 Stradale, 8C Competizione, 156 GTA, TZ2 and the 147 GTA. You need to know whats under the hood in order to maintain and look after them properly. When it comes to unreliability, the Italians actually do not make it on the list, German cars are starting to become worse in terms of reliability apart from build quality
@@campkira These cars have proven to be reliable. I daily drive one ;) The transmission is from a dodge dart lol.
@@SoldatX2 Well, no. The transmission is not from a Dodge Dart, but the Dodge Dart has a transmission from Fiat. It's not a transmission made by Dodge, it's very much Fiat.
Straight onto Autotrader they range from low 30's to high 40's rare car. 27 on sale.
Yea ok. Go hate something else. Depends on where you are ass. Enjoy you WRX!
These things are incredibly rare, stunningly beautiful, and designed like a true exotic. They're also incredible values now, with some in the mid-$30s to mid-$40s for 2-3 year old cars with mileage in the teens. I would love to get one, but Iiterally don't fit in one. I had to settle for a Ferrari but I will always love this car and lust after it.
Poor you, had to settle for a Ferrari! Actually, I came to my 4C from an F355, so I'm just messing with you. Ferrari certainly makes the most glorious engines, though.
@@canto_v12 haha, yeah, it was a little facetious because I love having a Ferrari 360 Modena. But, I can't say it's honestly the better car or better styled. The performance is very close, rides are similar, and styling's classic Italian. So I'm paying more for the badge up front and in maintenance or upgrades, for older tech and suspension components. Styling's a bit subjective, but I find the 4C as appealing or more at certain angles compared to my Ferrari - it's like a smaller version that they scrunched up, making all of the curves more pronounced.
i hate it when im forced to settle for a ferrari
If somebody wants a hardcore, lightweight super car, they’re probably going to buy a Lotus. From everything I’ve heard, the 4c tends to fall short in comparison to the Elise and Exige, which are cheaper used, and are more reliable.
Toyota engine.
Comparatively the Alfa is not cheaper and definitely not less reliable. I've had both the 4c and an Elise of the same age and the lotus was nothing but hassle.
@@bencocker7487 should have got an s2000
@@kanatsizkanatli 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
I owned an 06 Elise that I ended up supercharging and I own a 4C. IMO the Alfa is the superior car in almost every way except for the steering feel. Thats it. And the dual clutch in the Alfa is much nicer than the sloppy manual in the Elise. I loved my Elise but the 4C honestly is a much better car.
All the 4C does is make people smile. Can't flip to the back page of any automobile rag and look up 0-100 smiles in X am't of time. Most undervalued thing the 4C brings to the table is short gearing, because it's so small and light that no special tall gears are needed to milk out every MPG. No gear is a compromise. Every other mass produced car just can't feel as hyped up, because they are suffocated by long/tall gear ratios with big steps between each gear.
Leather dash was an option on post-2016 cars. Mine has leather with red stitching to match the seats. The door cards are still plastic though the US got leather door cards. Also, that car you're driving has the race suspension. You can tell because it has the red stitching on the steering wheel. Standard suspension cars have black stitching there.
The problem was that at least where I live, it was impossible to get a test drive. The dealers were completely unprepared to sell the car.
The 4C is just too expensive, in Germany it was 80000 EUR on release.
@MunroM84 True, but you cant blow 90% of your budget on the chassis and then basically cut everything else down to potato.
@D B OK keep driving the Miata! LoL. Or is it a Suburu WRZ?
Alphaboy1 why u skip the Y? To WRZ 🤣
Here in South Africa these cars were hyped up before launch so much that they were more expensive than a Boxter S. The Alfa is good looking, however their perceived quality problems ultimately sank this car in my opinion.
The Cayman S is also way over 100.000€ with good specs.
70-80k for the 4C isnt that bad considering what you get: An extremely light and Well Handling car
Underrated cars. Engine sounds gorgeous. Will become highly collectible.
I have owned one for two years and love it. Can't really find anything wrong with it but I understand why some people may not like it.
From an engineering standpoint at least, the 4C had a weird suspension setup. It had MacPherson struts at the rear and double wishbones at the front. That is not ideal, you’d want the opposite to better control the rear weight of the car, or preffereably go struts all round (ala Cayman) or wishbones all round (ala Elise, Exige). Having this configuration destroys the handling of the 4C, it becomes a little bit unstable and twitchy around a corner. The back tends to step out at unneccessary times due to the struts unable to control the car’s weight as well as the front wishbones, which results in the rear having less grip than the front.
If they want to save cost and have only one side of the car with struts, it should be the front side, as the lighter weight of the front means there’s less weight to control / deal with. The Porsche 911 has struts in the front and multi-link in the rear, that car has relatively good handling (one of the best in GT3 / GT2 form).
They couldn't package the engine in there with double wishbones at the back, hence the macpherson setup
Well, that setup isn't inherently bad, but macpherson struts are not the same thing as a normal strut. They are bad for sports car applications since the camber of the wheel changes as they are compressed and decompressed, which happens during hard turns or on a racetrack. Still, perhaps it could have been tuned more optimally.
As a new car, the 4C was simply too expensive relative to the competition. The understeer and tram lining issues, lack of manual gearbox, and the cheap looking interior (if you didn't opt for the carbon package) created a perception of an expensive car that was just lacking. Even with the carbon package, the air conditioning controls etc look beyond cheap (I think they are actually from the Dodge Dart). On the other hand, as a used car, it is a tremendous value. The front suspension issue is easily handled with an alignment and tires (RE71R really helps!). Once you have that sorted, the car is an absolute blast to drive. I've owned one for about 9 months, and have really enjoyed it since addressing the handling issue. While the gearbox isn't exactly ideal, it still works well enough with the power plant. I think its a great option for those looking for something entry level exotic and unique.
For those complaining about the exhaust note, drive a 718 Boxster S or Cayman S (the flat 4 turbo). That is a brilliant car, with a great power plant that sounds absolutely horrible!
and then you compare it to Ford Puma 1.4 16V and understand how stupid Alfa thinks everyone is in this world :D
The 4C always struck me as the product of a confused marketing department. Why did they think someone who'd buy a car without power steering would want an automatic gearbox? Why did they think that people would overpay for a car with four-cylinder engine just because it has a carbon-fibre chassis? It's easy for me to say, but I think if they'd sold it cheaper (and yes, slightly heavier) with an aluminium chassis and a manual gearbox it would have been more of a success. Oh, and if they hadn't cocked up the steering geometry!
Yup..Why didn’t they give it any storage space? Why didn’t they make the interior slightly bigger? Why discontinue the coupe to sell the spider? Why no Quadrifolio? Stupid management over there sadly.
Hello Stef, hello James!
I really like this review and also that you two work together to get the best info for your viewers 👍
Too bad this beauty is not available with manual shifter, in my book that kills every car.
I had an Alfa 156 about 15yrs ago and the car never let me down in 165.000km.
I can’t speak for the European market because I live in the states. Here, the cost of the car put it in a segment that made it a hard sale to anyone other than die hard Alfa guys. Yes, it has a carbon chassis, it’s lightweight, it handles like a dream, and it’s a true sports car. BUT for far less money there’s Corvette C7 Z51, GT350, and Camaro SS 1LE from the American brands. The Launch edition had prices in excess of $70k in 2015 for a car with sub 300hp and competing against juggernauts like the Cayman, Boxster, M3/4, and v6 versions of the F-Type. I’m sure it’s a phenomenal car to drive (I haven’t driven it so I’m willing to assume greatness on face value for the sake of argument).That being said, on paper it’s really hard to justify it over many other options available here. Without the drive being orgasmic levels of great, it’s was set up to fail here.
Hey, a nice surprise to see StefAB over here, well done James. I've wondered about him, I've watched a bunch of his Abarth 124 content. Thanks for the insights.
There was a red 4C coupe with 5k km on sale for 65k euros on an exotic car dealer close to me. While I adore the 4C,and that combo in particular, you can get a manual E92 M3, fix the bearings in a dealership and still have 25k in the bank with a hell of a car on your garage. Hell, you can get a 360 modena coupe and a grand or 2 left for fuel. Lets not forget an exige S for 35-45k euros. This car ,especially in some markets, doesnt make sense.
Your channel has improved vastly. The quality of frequency of content is impressive. Thanks
The problem with the 4c is that People dont under stand why is made the way it is: a light Quick car. That can be upgrated easly.
This is the closest we get to the clássic alfa romeos of the 60s. Light, fast 4 cil cars with great driving dynamics
At that price it should have a 6 cyl.. It's not about the power but the sound and refinement.
The problem is that every review I've ever read about the car says it DOESN'T have "great driving dynamics".
So glad to see how your channel has grown Jay! I remember when you had around 10-30k subscribers. Keep up the amazing work!!
This video, was done very well! Very informative and entertaining to watch.
Thanks Jay. Nice little review - informative.
Love the look of these cars. I always preferred the more conventional concept car lights... Still haven't driven one though but it's on my list of cars I want to experience.
Great review as ever, I think these look lovely car, saw you filming this and looked stunning on the day.
Stalker
Always loved the 4C. If only I needed just 2 seats I’d have one. The first car Alfa has built properly for decades.
Silly comment comparing the 2 Miata (BIG MAC) VS 4C (filet mignon) is laughable.
A Dino for the 21st century ? Love it.
Nice car that doesn't deserve bad reputation U r a good motoring journalist J M !
Great video Jay. 4C is a special and rare car and will be a reminiscent piece of AR history for sure. Needs to be driven to be understood and just to echo your comments it’s plenty quick for the highway and a sensational experience behind the wheel. Alfa works ECU and intermediate geo blocks are essential mods and buyers should budget for that (agree with your mate Steve, go for standard suspension as it’s pretty hardcore already with the totally rigid CF tub - still needs some enough give in the chassis to cope with UK roads)
I test drove one of these and really liked it . Handling was a bit odd as front wheels tracked the road a lot and at times it was worrying , but as a motorcyclist I loved the experience while being safe . If you plan to buy this get one with Sport package
I love everything about my 4c even the little quirks
Mine...five years owned....minor mods, massive machine. Current hacks ran it into the ground. Had it been a Por, or BMw...itd be claimed as genius. Its an ALFA !!!!! Passion, boys...passion
"No one bought one?"- the launch model was fully sold out. I tried to buy one at the 2013 Geneva motorshow. The problem with this car was that it is unbearable to live with. The no storage at the front and the ridiculous storage at the back made this too much of a compromise. You couldn't go on a long weekend with a gf because you have no luggage space.
They have indeed kept their values well though and they are really cheap to run.
Having the space to take luggage for a long weekend is something I really like about my Cayman. I auto-X and occasionally track mine, but I still love to take long drives and road trip in it.
I hit my mid life crisis at 23. Bought a 1958 Alfa Giulietta Spider. Never had another Alfa, but an Alfisti for life. Went thru a Corvette phase, had 2, great car, every red blooded American boy’s dream. But something missing. RX7, Fiero GT, GTOs, several Brits, Fiat, Trans Am, Camaro SS, BMW, and on. Bought a ‘79 Porsche 911 SC Targa. Hooked for life. On my 6th now. A 1986 944, a 2001, 996, a 2010 Boxster, a Macan (thank God my wife hated it) and now a 2013 Boxster. Still, I just love Alfas. I can’t give up my Porsches and I have three cars for a two car garage. I regret every time I passed up an Alfa for something else.
Quick search shows that the 4C is still available as a coupe in France (but not offered in Spain, Germany, or Czech Republic) while the Spider is still offered in the United States. I was also surprised to find out that Giulietta is still offered across Europe.
I’ve wanted one for years. Going to make it happen next year.
It is criminal that AR made this with an automatic-only transmission and a sub-par engine. It is the best looking car in recent automotive history, IMO.
And you never drove one. It’s a brilliant fast little car. Your attitude is exactly why it failed, because it doesn’t sound impressive on paper or in videos. If ever you drive one, assuming your head can fit, it will change your mind.
James might not be the perfect presenter for everyone but he's interesting to listen to and reminds me of Hammond when he started out and wasn't famous: down to earth and keen on cars. Perfect. I can watch many more of these car reviews. I'm so utterly bored and annoyed with all the influencers (I won't name them because I don't want to publicise their name any more than necessary) who just want to climb the ladder to own fast cars and milk the youtube monetisation. They kill the industry that should remain for enthusiasts who don't care about all the fame. Stick with doing a good job of reviewing a car for what it is, not as an excuse to jet set the world and be seen with the CEOs.
It’s an Epic car. Of course some of us already knew this before it was “ discontinued “.
WOW i miss this intro. esp the song. its so much more engaging than the one ur using in 2021
Red 4c coupe is my ultimate dream car. Very nice collaboration btw.
I got one. So excited. When I saw it in person for the first time, it was like... Wow.
I love the 4C. Very quirky but very eventful!
People don't buy a car for what it is, they buy cars for what other people think they are. It might be a great drive and plenty quick in an everyday sense but if internet critics say it's slow or bad compared to X then it's doomed before it's even hit the showroom floor. What a weird world we live in.
The one thing that made me sell mine that I could not sort out was it just wasn't stable at 60mph or above. It has McPherson rear struts and where there are slightly uneven road surfaces it rear steered. On the track where the surface is perfectly flat the car was amazing. Apparently stiffer rear bushes help but don't take it completely away.
Thanks, the car deserves this spotlight. Lesser people want a driverscar these days. I call them the spec-sheet generation. 0.1 sec les from 0/60 and a 2 miles/hour higher topspeed on paper is enough to define the 'best' car while it is totally irrelevant. It's also a pity the 4C (and alfa in general) can't get rid of the reliability nonsens. The 159, giulietta and mito are al reliable cars so you should think that after making reliable cars for at least 15 years now this nonsens wil stop but it seems they are fighting a losing battle. I'm afraid its not going to be the only alfa that is discontinued. I doubt the brand will survive the next crisis. PSA wil pull that trigger without a blink.
@footballcoreano they don't need Americans for that. After the merger with PSA (Peugeot, citroen,..) Carlos Tavares is in charge. In crisis situations cost cuttings are nr 1 priority and low sales products are the first to go. The new DS brand is also not selling that well so my guess is 1of these 2 has to go and I doubt the frenche wil give up their own newborn 'luxerybrand'. I sincerely hope i'm wrong.
"I call them the spec-sheet generation. 0.1 sec les from 0/60 and a 2 miles/hour higher topspeed on paper is enough to define the 'best' car while it is totally irrelevant."
The problem is that a car like the Cayman is faster by every metric, handles better, is more reliable, holds its resale better, has a ten times better interior, on and on. You can't say "the 4C is for the purists" when other cars do what it is supposed to excel at better than it does along with everything else. Hell most journalists said it's just twitchy and not even a well thought out car from a handling perspective.
I bet in a few years time these will soar in value just like some of their older models e.g. 147 GTA, 155 Ti V6
Can't remember when I saw 147gta. Oh wait. It was on the A1M, broken down due to its exquisite Italian engineering
@@zonta71 no mate, you must live in a country where people cannot do simple maintenance and take care of their cars. I've seen 156's reach over 140,000 miles with full comprehensive service history + invoices and receipts for parts etc
@@asifnoaman8978 lol. I live in England and alfa and fiat are the worst depreciating brands. I have owned 2 Italian cars fiT and Lfa and I will never buy any brand from Italy. Design is good but reliability is the worst of all brands. So why didn't the alfa 4c sell? Cos its beautiful car but user experience is like have the having a tooth pulled out by the mafia. And am a biker also so let's include ducati
@@zonta71 first of all, I'm in the UK and you dont seem to understand that I'm talking about the older Alfa's. Besides, any car will depreciate in value these days until they have an attractive audience like they do these days unlike the common BMW 3 series or Audi A3 etc
@@zonta71 if that’s the case, why is German cars I find broken down in our wonderful All lane Running motorways 🛣 with their stupid electric hand brakes and stuck in Park..!!
One of these tried to race me from the lights a few years ago when I was on a GSX1400. To be fair he was quite close and not the stroll in the park I assumed it would be.
Loved seeing @stefabtv in this one 👍
One of my client has a beautiful Light Blue 4C, he use this for track days in Italy, he told me that the car is not much forgiving for errors, need time to master and appreciate, but is overall a dangerous car for not experienced drivers (he has an Elise too).
My Dream car. In Oz these just don’t depreciate .. new they were $90k used 80k just amazing how different things are around the world.
Great review and very interesting to have Steph make a guest appearance.
Beautiful car, shame about the rather uninspiring engine sounds.
A future classic? It has to be.
I think you can option to have a leather upgrade, so all the dash area should be nice and soft from the factory.
If any car ever screamed for a manual transmission, it's this one. It's mind boggling that it wasn't even offered.
Imaging the 4c with a gated manual, it would trade over 100k today. But a dodge dart transmission, give me a break
DCTs are lighter than a synchronized gearbox.
Alpine said that was the reason they went DCT over a manual gearbox.
Amazing wish I could afford one. I have the hard back brochures.
I like the 4c, I always thought it was an attractive car, with a lot of nice things about it. What I couldn't get past was too expensive for it's market segment. Frankly, if i was in the market for a small lightweight sports car and I had that kind of money in my pocket, I would have walked past the Alfa onto Lotus and buy the Exige. I'm not even talking about the current 3.5 Exige, I mean the S2 shape with the 1.8 Toyota Supercharged. They can be had for about £10k less than the 4C and are eyeball meltingly quick.
Yep the S2 Exige is the goldilocks car IMO.
I've had both and kept the Alfa. When you realize that you are sitting in a carbon fiber tub you understand why it costs more. But its an experience like no other...
Very generous to call them eye melting quick. They were only 220bhp with a 0-100 time of 12 or so seconds.
I drove one for a few weeks and they simply missed the target market with some shitty choices. The engine farted too much, the red line was too low, the interior was absolute shit, and the carnal sin was that that gearbox instead of having three pedals. I would have forgiven EVERYTHING if it had three pedals and a gearstick. If you make a barebones 'drivers car' then offer a manual!
Yeah, no manual made this car DOA. I drove one. It was fun. But no manual and HUGE blind spots made this car unbuyable.
@@iluvcakes19 I ended up buying an Evora S manual instead of this. But that's another story and Lotus as a car brand are simply something I would never touch again...never drive your heros.
Agreed. The engine sounds awful
@@Jut1233456 dang!.. real sorry to hear that!
Don't forget no power steering as well
Jay, great work as always. You need a proper column in a large publication or TV. Of course your own content is good but someone should hire you too
A carbon fiber tub, bare bones stripped interior, and yet still heavier than a MX-5 Miata. What the heck Alfa.
As a current owner maybe I can better explain what owning and driving a 4C is all about. First off it has nothing to do with sales volumes, or creature comforts, or practicality. Alfa designed this is a special, low volume sport car, created solely for a very specific niche of people. You can take it or leave it. They are not trying to make the next high-volume Mazda MX5. If you are thinking to compare this to a Cayman or Boxster (which I have also owned) in terms of practicality than you might be missing the point of this car. It would be better to think of this as a much more tame Ariel Atom with a top, a radio, and an A/C. The same type of people that would be drawn to the raw and unforgiving driving experience of an Atom should look hard at the 4C, especially if they just want to keep it a hair more civilized. Also people that enjoy riding sport bikes should look at the 4C. In that regard then the Alfa begins to look plenty practical for its intent.
And OK I love a manual transmission but I'm telling you guys the 4C NEEDS the dual clutch. The driving experience is 95 percent of the time a two handed affair because of the geometry and quickness of the steering rack and the intensity of the experience. Sometimes its hard to tell if you are steering the car around the corner or is it steering itself and you are just hanging on for dear life...But that is one of the amazing things about this car is how it feels to drive, its simply fantastic and a ton of fun. Additionally its been stated Alfa went with the dual clutch because of the one piece design of the baked carbon fiber tub. It would have been prohibitively more expensive had it come in a manual option and the driving experience would be frantic, to say the least.
As for expense, you can currently pick these up in the low $40's or even mid to high $30's with very low miles in the U.S. which to me is a smoking deal for the type of driving experience and style only the Alfa 4C can provide. My car has been 100% reliable over 5 years now with only oil changes and now I'm getting ready for my timing belt / bolt tightening service. Interior wise my LE has added carbon bits and the U.S. most cars have the leather wrapped and stitched interior which raises the bar considerably in the looks department, but again its designed to be bare bones. I honestly think this is one of the most misunderstood cars out there...I've had a lot of cars over the years and its going to be tough to let this one go.
MattG this is a good post! I test drove the 4c and a few things put me off. The gearbox however though was great and combines well with the turbo engine. A manual with that engine would have been hard work!
As a current owner of a 2016 AR 4C Spider for the past 2.5 years ... and the owner of a Sportbike ... MattG your 4C analysis is SPOT ON! Well said, my friend --
“Steering and gearing” were my biggest complaint, but also it was evident that all the money was spent on the tub, and not the suspension, interior, etc. Ordered a Boxster Spyder as planned, which is paid off and I’ll keep until I die.
Thanks for your review. I collect my 4c next week. ……..
I do like the car 4C from what I have tried on Asseto Cora’s or Gran Turismo Sport, and handling seems good. But I do hear the steering can be a bit finicky. Stef piece on the car was really good, lots of info seems like Alfa works sort out most of the issues. I’m still interested in the 4C but for its price and risks with Carbon and Fibre glass issue, like you say you would probably go Lotus or Civic Type R similar price or even S2000 for similar drive.
"hatchback running costs" only if you ignore cost of service and damage, and I say this of an owner of a hatchback and a 4C.
Crack your windshield on the hatchback? $400.
Crack your windshield on the 4C? $4200.
The bolt tightening service alone costs more than what it cost to run my Fit for 5 years, and its prescribed every 2.
We talked with our Alfa Romeo dealer(officially the best one in germany) and he only retightens the bolts that are really necessary. Thats way cheaper. Our 4C now has 26k kilometers and not a single part failed
Had one for two days on appro' the tramlining and 50p steering made it somewhere I didn't want to get back in tbh after just 2 hrs - 46 hrs sat unused until collected by dealer !
I bought my 4c brand new in Canada for the equivalent of 45000 euros, full leather dash and door, European models seem to have less options or people didn’t want to pay for more options.
You are a lucky man!
In the EU its base price was about 80 000 EUR ...
It was 92k sticker but it was discounted to 69k Canadian, I wouldn’t buy one at sticker but at the discount price I jumped, used ones are asking more then what I payed
Always liked these, though the early ‘spider’ headlights are nasty. The later cars are probably the ones to have, with the updated steering and suspension changes.
Love this car. Very beautifull design.
Fantastic little car & very beautiful.
Honestly my dream weekend toy, bit of a step up from my 1.6 giulietta though 😂
when this came out it was test driven by maybe future owners 24/7 for whole month under my window. out of the dealership and back the whole day. in 5 minutes intervals. first i was like cool looking and sounding car....after 5 hours i was looking around what can i throw at it :D:D
*I wish Honda would make something like this to replace the S2000 in their sports segment -- albeit at a much cheaper price with no carbon tub etc.* Basically, it would slot between the Honda s600 and NSX -- a baby nsx per say without the hybrid crap. Honda could easily drop the new Type R motor into it as well. Price/segment wise, it could compete with the new Supra and Porsche Cayman/Boxter etc.
You can snag on for £30k second hand sometimes normally hugely looked after and only around 8k miles on the clock
I remember sitting in one when I was at CarFest North 2016 when I was 16...
I'm so glad I bought my 4C! It's been a riot to drive on track, and well, not the best every day road car, but it truly feels special and turns heads everywhere when I take it out on weekends. I have been turned around on owning a non-manual car thanks to the experience that this car offers. The sounds and the driver feedback are matched only by a few cars with number plates under, I don't know, $100k?
Well done to you both! This car looks even better in the flesh (composite). I wonder if any of those extreeme wrenching youtubers (Travarsh etc) would consider adding a manual gearbox and powersteering (that works on parking speeds) to an Alfaworks prepared 4C. I would like to know what that drives like.
I have only ever seen one drive around locally and it is owned by the same chap who owns the local Alfa Romeo dealer.
To put further into perspective, I live in Inverness and as a biker drive the NC500 most sunny weekends so tend to come across most types of exotic supercar throughout the year. There are always plenty of owners groups coming up for a few days. Porsche are almost as common as a Ford Focus, many many Nissan GTR, Aston Martins on the 007 tours, Ferrari, Lotus, AMG, M cars etc etc. Still to come across one of these that is not the local one as mentioned above.
Question is now in 2021 with current prices in the UK, this or Evora s, possibly even in 400?
I like what they did with this, the carbon chassis, dual clutch and styling does make it feel like a baby Ferrari.
But honestly I think it would have done so much better if they'd sacked off the carbon for aluminium, given in a manual gearbox and a naturally aspirated V6 and it therefore been 10k cheaper or more. I know it would be in my top 5 future cars if it did.
Why would you want a dated aluminium chassis that’s heavy and flexible? Metals are on their way out.
@@HairDom I literally said in my comment, it would be £10k cheaper, if not more.
This is my Dream car...
I’d buy one in a heartbeat. The coupe version is the one I’d buy.
It has more of the original ethos of a 911 than the current 911
My old man bought a 64 spider as a Sunday car never considered the price its still in his garage and prob worth crazy money now. I reckon the 4c spider will be a future classic the fact they sold poorly will add to its value
If you haven't see the 4c quadrifoglio version they made a one off of its probably the most beautiful car I've ever see
US-spec cars all came with leather dashboards and door cards, but the US requires side airbags so that must have played a part in the equipment choices. It's a much more visually pleasing place with the leather package. But then again, those cars weigh 300 lbs. more!
For me, the one truly deal-breaking mistake in this car is the gearbox. I'm not a fan of 4-cylinder engines, but this one sounds pretty damn good, especially on over-run. But if I can't get a proper manual, I'm not interested.
It was duded by use of a four cylinder engine which made people scoff at it. It is brilliant but it was always going to struggle for appeal because of the engine as great as it might be.
In my opinion its biggest problem was the 981 Cayman/Boxster at that time. 6 Cylinders, Manual, more practical for the same price. Yeah the 4C looks amazing but so does the 981. Im sure the 4C is astonishing car to drive after you fiddled with it but you really shouldnt have to fiddle with such a car
I can't believe the Cayman was a target. It was (and certainly seen to be) much more intended as an ultra lightweight alternative to an Elise here. Trouble was that initial test cars suffered (as you say) from poor set up and was supplied with the competition suspension which did it no favours. Had it outhandled an Elise I have no doubt the press with have been much more prepared to overlook it's other deficiencies (poor interior, heavy steering). You only get one chance to make a first impression - and, in the UK at least, they made a very bad one.
Lotus Elise meets a Preying Mantis and I love it!!!