A Black Alfa Romeo 4C on a Track with Dramatic Background Music May Frighten You…

It’s no secret that no matter how much an automotive designer wants to take credit for his or her creation, there’s only so much that can be called genuine creativity. Most of the better shapes we see are inspired by nature, usually by muscular predatory animals, which have clearly defined flanks, perfectly resembling the shape of a feline crouched down, ready to pounce – somewhat of a cliché in the industry.

The idea is: the more extreme the flanks, the more coke bottle-like it all gets, and the more we begin to hear names, most of which are Italian (and one Japanese).

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Poll: Which One Would You Go For, the Porsche Cayman or Alfa Romeo 4C?

We have been blessed in recent years with lots of excellent sports cars, from a variety of manufacturers approaching the problem from their own unique perspective.

One carmaker that had been inactive in this particular sporty market sector for a while is Alfa Romeo that has returned it pretty 4C. It promises to be a very enjoyable driving package, with ultra-low weight and punchy turbocharged engine – sure, it won’t please the ear as much as some of the six-cylinder cars, but it is as fast if not quicker than some very unlikely competitors, like Porsche’s reportedly brilliant-to-drive new Cayman.

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Pogea Racing Offers the Alfa Romeo 4C Its First Tune, Promises to Boost Power to 415HP

The Alfa Romeo 4C has yet to arrive in dealerships, but Pogea Racing has already presented the first tune for the mid-engined Italian sports car. The tuning program of the Friedrichshafen-based German company has as highlights an engine upgrade that lifts output to 415 horsepower, an aerodynamic kit that reduces lift and massive 19- and 20-inch wheels.

Pogea also throws in sporty suspension components and interior accessories made of materials such as leather, aluminum and carbon fiber. The aero kit gives the Alfa 4C a more striking appearance thanks to the carbon fiber body parts for the front, side and rear. These elements also help reduce the lift forces, thus increasing high-speed driving stability.

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Man Waits for Bus, Gets a Ride in Alfa Romeo 4C from Racing Driver Marc Gené

What would you say if you were waiting for a bus you and all of a sudded got a ride in a brand new Alfa Romeo 4C, with none other than endurance racing driver Marc Gené behind the wheel? It’s a rhetorical question, so don’t bother answering because we know you’d say yes.

That’s exactly what happened to a lucky Madrilenian who jumped right in when Marc Gené pulled over and asked him if he wanted a ride in the 4C. However, the surprise didn't end there. After rolling on the streets of Spain’s capital, Marc Gené asked his passenger if he really wanted to do something that he’d never forget.

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Watch How the Alfa Romeo 4C is Born and Built at Maserati’s Modena Plant

Following yesterday’s details about the manufacturing process of the Alfa Romeo 4C sportscar, the Italian brand released a video that shows how the vehicle is actually built, and it's a pretty interesting process to watch.

Starting with the construction of the carbon fiber monocoque chassis, the video shows all the complicated and time-consuming production steps where manual labor takes the center role. Alfa Romeo says the minimum “takt time” (the manufacturing speed needed to guarantee delivery) is 20 minutes. For comparison, the shortest "takt time" in mass production plants is approximately 50 seconds.

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Alfa Romeo 4C Reveals Manufacturing Secrets, Weighs Just 895 Kg (1,973 Lbs)

The all-new and highly anticipated Alfa Romeo 4C signals the Italian brand’s rejuvenation and its return to the United States this autumn after a hiatus that lasted close to two decades. Alfa’s new small sports car will be built at Maserati’s plant in Modena, just like the 8C Competizione supercar before it.

Designed from the beginning to have a supercar-rivaling weight/power ratio of less than 4 kg/hp, the Alfa Romeo 4C has a total dry weight of just 895 kg (1,973 lbs), which makes it lighter than a city car and one of the lightest production cars in the world. To achieve these figure, engineers used aluminum, steel, lightened SMC (Sheet Moulding Compound) and carbon fiber.

Alfa Romeo says the secret of the 4C’s lightness and dynamic behavior lays in the use of 10 percent carbon fibre, which represents 25 percent of the 4C overall volume.

Carbon fiber was chosen for the structural function monocoque that makes up the central, load-bearing cell of the chassis, as the material offers the best weight/stiffness efficiency. The monocoque weighs just 65 kg (143 lbs).

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Report: Maserati May Make its Own Alfa 4C-Based Sports Car

The Alfa Romeo 4C is a very appealing car, for any type of motorist, with its unique styling, strong and efficient engine and of course the badge (and grille, in this case). It is so appealing, in fact, that UK magazine Autoexpress is saying Maserati is currently looking at the car, and they may make their own version of it, in order to help them reach their target of selling 50,000 cars per year by 2015. Read more »

This is How Alfa Romeo Plans to Triple its Sales in the Next Three Years

If Alfa Romeo keeps procrastinating and delaying the launch of their revised range of cars, we will be forced to start writing jokes and make fun of them for not being able to start the "brand revival", until our pointy pleasantries get the job done and force them to launch the models, out of sheer shame.

So what is the latest piece of news from Alfa Romeo? Well, it’s what we've been getting for the last two years: more future plans, of the very detailed kind.

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Alfa Romeo 4C Official (?) Brochure with Full Specs and Equipment Range

Apart from the trio of hypercars, probably the most eagerly awaited model of the 83rd Geneva Motor Show was the production version of the Alfa Romeo 4C.

Now, after the extensive coverage it has received, one may wonder what is left to say for the sexy two-seat, mid-engined Italian coupe. Well, quite a lot actually: 4C-Forums, the only site (so far) dedicated to the new Alfa, has published what it claims is the official brochure for the car.

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Just In Case You Were Wondering what the Alfa Romeo 4C Sounds Like

The Alfa Romeo 4C was one of the highlights of the 2013 Geneva Motor Show. It is Alfa's attempt at being taken seriously again by the performance and sports car crowd, so it really needs to prove itself out on the road for that to be possible. Read more »

We Give Alfa Romeo 4C a Fresh Lick of Paint

The production version of the Alfa Romeo 4C was definitely one of the most eagerly-anticipated sports cars of the Geneva Motor Show. We already knew that the Italian automaker wasn't going to make too many changes over the 4C concept, and aside from the kit car-esque headlights, they did keep their promise.

Questionable headlight aesthetics aside, the design of the rest of the car is quite successful, and we couldn't help but wonder what it would look like finished in other colors aside from the red and white variants we've already seen.

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First Alfa Romeo 4C Promo Touts Brand's Return to the U.S., Configurator Launches in June

There's a lot to like about the production Alfa Romeo 4C, from its ultra-lightweight construction that uses carbon fiber components to keep the dry weight at a surprisingly low 895kg or 1,973 pounds, to its nicely crafted body, and one thing to hate: those spider eye-style headlamps that look like a bad afterthought.

Of course, it could be just us and a bunch of other gearheads we talked to and who said the same thing, so if you disagree, don't be shy to share your feelings in the comments.

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Alfa Romeo 4C Launch Edition Will be Made in 1,000 Units, Cost €60,000 in Europe [w/Video]

It was no secret that the 4C would make its world debut at the 83rd Geneva Motor Show, yet Alfa Romeo still managed to spring a surprise. That’s because the compact sports coupe was actually launched in the exclusive – ahem - “Launch Edition”.

This model will be manufactured in just 1,000 numbered units: 400 are earmarked for Europe, Africa and Middle East, 500 for North America and 100 for the rest of the world. Alfa Romeo announced that the 4C “Launch Edition” will be priced at €60,000 (US$78,000) across all European markets, including VAT but excluding local taxes, and is available to order immediately (no word on U.S. pricing yet).

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Alfa Romeo 4C Engine Sounds and a Peek at its Digital Instrument Cluster

Over the past couple of weeks, we saw official photos and learned a lot about the new Alfa Romeo 4C, but the Italians are still keeping many details under wraps, which is where this spy video from KGP Photography steps in and comes into use. Read more »

Alfa Romeo 4C Gets 236HP, First Image of the Interior Revealed

As the clock is ticking towards the March 5 opening of the 83rd Geneva Auto Show, Alfa Romeo released a new batch of images of its 4C coupe, among them the first official shot of the interior, and, finally, the engine's output.

In its latest press release the Italian carmaker, which has already shown us the production version of the mid-engined sports car, announced that the 1,750 cc (1.75-liter) turbocharged aluminum four-cylinder mill that drives the rear wheels via a TCT dual-clutch gearbox puts out 236HP (240PS), confirming our earlier report.

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Jolly Good News! Autocar has the CarScoop on Alfa Romeo 4C, will get 237hp and 266hp!

Well, tickle me pink and call me Sir Nigel Featherstonehaugh-Smythe. Autocar Magazine is reporting that the Alfa Romeo 4C, which was officially revealed in production form on Tuesday, will be powered by a 1.75-liter turbocharged engine pushing out 237bhp in standard guise.

And we quote news editor / journalist Mark Tisshaw: "Information leaked by Alfa dealers in Switzerland suggests the 4C will be offered with 237bhp in its initial launch guise." Remind you of something? Sure it does, but there's more from where that came from.

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Alfa Romeo 4C Mid Engine Sports Coupe: This is it, The Production Model

It’s been a painful two years of waiting since the 2011 Geneva study but finally, Alfa Romeo has revealed the first images of the 4C sports coupe that will make its world debut in the upcoming Geneva Auto Show on March 5.

The transition from concept to production hasn’t robbed the 4C of its delicious styling, which is all but identical sans some details like the headlamps, tail lights and door mirrors, nor its specifications or dimensions that measure “less than 4 meters” long, 1.18 m high and 2.0 m wide and a wheelbase of “less than 2.4 meters”.

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U Design: The New Alfa Romeo 4C Spider

If anything else, the community here at CarScoop seems hyped about Alfa's return to its roots with the upcoming 4C series.

After one of our readers who attended an Alfa Romeo dealer meeting in Europe shared detailed information about the 4C, including preliminary pricing, production numbers and even the company's plans to expand the range with Racing, Spider and Stradale versions, another reader, Anton Gjorsev, sent us this rendering of the convertible model.

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Insider: Alfa Romeo 4C gets 240PS / 270PS, Racing, Stradale & Roadster Variants Confirmed

Sergio Marchionne’s ambitious plan for the resurrection of Alfa Romeo calls for no less than six new models for launch in the U.S. market until the end of 2016. The thing is that, four of them are earmarked for 2015 and one for 2016, leaving just one model for this year: the 4C mid-engine sports coupe.

Thanks to a CarScoop reader who happens to be a Swiss dealer and who attended an Alfa Romeo meeting earlier this month, we are in a position to share several new details about the production 4C that will likely be presented at the Geneva Motor Show next month.

Contrary to initial reports that its 1.7-liter turbocharged inline-four could put out as much as 300-horses, Alfa Romeo officials told dealers that its output will be 240PS or 237hp for the base model, the same as in the Giulietta QV from which it is borrowed.

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Scoop: Production Alfa Romeo 4C Coupe Sports Minimal Changes

It’s almost time for Alfa Romeo to unleash its first true rear-wheel drive sports car since the demise of the 8C Competizione coupe and roadster in 2010, the new 4C mid-engine coupe.

This week, our spies nabbed a pre-production prototype of the 4C testing in Europe. While Alfa Romeo's engineers had the car covered almost from top to bottom, we can still see all some of the styling modifications made over the impressive concept displayed at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show.

These include the addition of new exterior mirrors with a larger surface mounted on the doors, the visible door handles positioned right in front of the side air vents, the new circular tail lamp fixtures, and the redesigned (and dare we say, more impressive looking) diffuser at the rear end that also gains a set of auxiliary lights.

When Alfa presented the study two years ago, it told us that the 4C features a 1.7-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine coupled to a dual-clutch transmission driving the rear wheels. We still don’t know how strong the engine is, but the word on the street is could deliver 300 or more horses.

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