Alfa Romeo 4C Spider
NO MORE WAIT
I missed it, I admit that. I’ve been away from the carbon tub of the 4C for about 3 months and I was already beginning to feel the first signs of abstinence. Last December I spent one of the most entertaining and intense weeks of which I can remember in company of the Coupe, and trepidation was growing more and more, as the weeks were stored one after the other. Yes, I asked our friends at Alfa Romeo to put aside a Spider, just in time for the first spring sun and the Cars & Coffee event in Brescia (ACM #40) and they promptly replied, making me find the small super light sports car, ready for another week of fun, but this time with the possibility to take some air to my hair, those few that have remained. In just seven days, I drove every moment possible, testing the 4C Spider in different situations, and thanks to the previous and intense experience with the Coupe, I already knew where I wanted to go to deepen that knowledge with a sincere chassis and with all that series of feedbacks transmitted from the road to you directly to the spine without any kind of filter. The history of the sunroof is just an excuse for that matter, rather than a real spider, this is a Targa and once the roof is stowed in the boot, there is just enough room for a duffel bag and a jacket. Secret code – travel light, but with a heavy foot. The rest comes by itself.
Having held my back for more than half a day, just during the event in Brescia, I would like for once to dispel all those urban legends that see defining the small Italian as a wood board with wheels: ok it does not boast the comfort of a Maybach, not even a more human SLK, but trust me when I assure you that my back, while not enjoying the adolescent health, was not at all to pieces, once later in the evening I finally got home after 3 hours of travel (+3 for the journey back and about 3 stuck in traffic) – you only need to get familiar with it, but it’s nothing maddening. The access to the rear compartment, with that heavy hood, is certainly much more annoying, despite not having the glass panel that shows the 1750 4-cylinder, here covered with only a bunch of small vents to facilitate cooling. The 4C is livable in the city, the dimensions are reduced, and removed the slight effort when maneuvering the car standing still, it juggles well and with a good visibility. Getting out and getting it, it’s the confirmation of a much simpler operation than Lotus guys face, and the only hindrance once parked, is the width of the doors that you have to open more than usual to allow a far from ridiculous movement. But the 4C, Coupe or Spider, is something that wants to talk about driving, of emotions, of grip and braking, and all of this, even in the case of the version with removable roof, back to peep, never mind if your model is fitted with basic 17″ (ugly) alloy and the standard exhaust system, not even close to the sports one. The lack of an appropriate soundtrack was a constant and who knows me knows that much of the involvement at the wheel is given to me just from the musical instrument called exhaust! Without going to spend large amount of money for bringing home the optional Akrapovic, the sports system you get from the factory makes it look good and fun at low as at high revs and during gear changes, also because of the great double clutch 6-speed gearbox. There are not substantial differences with the version with rigid top, the rest of the frame is not affected by extra weight, if not for a handful of kilos that make them overcome a very short ton, and then the handling remains virtually unchanged – you throw it into corners and push hard on the gas a little earlier, doing just enough to widen the rear and firing up a gear after the other, with the breath of the turbocharger peeping more than usual in the cockpit. Removing and folding the roof in the back, the air creates some turbulence more than we would have expected, but also because of the sun and these pleasant mountain roads, the impression is to be even closer to the asphalt, arranged like in a small but powerful fighter plane, a precise surgical instrument, which prefers you to handle everything, thus selecting the “Alfa Romeo Race” mode (which disables the traction control), otherwise the unit will always be too invasive, both by cutting power as you seek to slip the rear tires, as long as changing gears, never mind the intentions that you had in respect to the next corner. It’s a matter of feeling and the 4C always give you a lot, managing to change diametrically behavior when you stop to cruise at 50 in the city center, and launch it in the middle of the curves of Melogno. A succession of more or less wide turns, fast bends and open spaces that allow you to track down the right pedal heavy and act on the brake, even with your left foot, so as to always keep the turbo pressure and exploit this small 4-cylinder, as something more adult and mature, eager to give everything it has.
You are sit at the bottom, on a couple of comfortable leather seats with excellent lateral restraint and the lack of power steering is never a problem, if not when the road surface is full of joints and the front wheels tend to go one side or the other, inevitably making the photographer sitting next to you, to go sick. There is not the slightest brakes fading and cornering grip is something obscene – it makes me want to go back and take the same corner at 5 kph more, and so on – but the culmination of everything is that moment when entering wide, you attack a bend with the accelerator at the floor and manage the steering wheel like that of any sports car. Feedback is doubled, however, the engine screams on the limiter threshold and yes you can rule the small steering wheel with one hand, to poke the nose exactly where you want. Then, a few minutes later, with even the smell of rubber and clutch in the air, time to slow down the pace and enjoy the always curious faces of passersby – who ask you and believe you’re behind the wheel of a Ferrari, those who (surprisingly) think it’s a BMW, and those starting to talk about how years ago they fell in love with their very Alfa Romeo, so different from this one, but apparently always able to give some special moment. How I wish a 4C with a manual transmission, I would pay good money for a similar configuration, but it seems we should be happy with the TCT double clutch g’box, which nevertheless carries out its excellent work, with fast and precise shiftings, with no apparent signs of fatigue – and this is no small thing. It always takes 4.5 seconds to sprint from 0 to 100 and reaches a top speed of 257 per hour, torque is also unchanged at 350Nm, delivered between 2100 and 3750 rpm. On the highway, cruising calm it also has excellent fuel efficiency, the last of the things that you will look at when buying a sports car.
And the roof in the trunk? Better to leave it home, so as not to further sacrifice the little space given to your stuff, or better leave it directly mounted on your head (look for carbon fiber parts for each panel possible), just because what really matters happens underneath and not above. A beautiful sunny day and the beautiful Ligurian Riviera are a perfect setting, I know, but personally I enjoyed more playing the massacre of tires in the twisty inland, regardless of the roof and of the apparently big question regarding the front headlights – better traditional or those remembering a nuclear fish Simpsons-style that are fitted on the Coupe? If you mind about that, I prefer the second one, provided they have the frame made of carbon and not plastic – I find them more unique, other feature that makes this car special. And if there are rumors of a possible GTA version, with a few more horsepower than these 240, I can’t help but hope it can find foundation in a future production, perhaps with an even more extreme set of suspension, this time to make a highway trip longer than a few minutes unthinkable, with an exhaust guilty for disturbing the public peace, and an even more determined and violent boost at low revs. If such a thing would ever be released, I would do somersaults to buy one. And what about the Spider? Great, and there was no doubt, as the differences compared to the Coupe are a little, but if I had to choose which one to take between these two, I would remain faithful to the solid roof club, always looking for a proper set of wheels and the sports exhaust.
Words by Alex Marrone
Photos by Giorgia Rossi and Jay Tomei