One of the Coolest Sports Cars Just Died
Leave it to Italy to make a truly beautiful and (sort of) affordable sports car and then kill it. I guess beauty is temporary, or something like that. The Alfa Romeo 4C was a brilliant and beautiful little car that I am quite sad to see go. That’s right; the Alfa 4C is gone from this world. Well, maybe that’s a bit dramatic, Alfa just won’t be making any more, but we are talking about small Italian sports cars here. A little drama is allowed – expected even.
The Alfa Romeo 4C is in a better place now
The 4C has been circling the drain for a while now. We don’t really exactly need the specific sales records to know that we haven’t seen many 4Cs out and about. A car that lovely, we would notice, and they just aren’t around. Well, there’s a good reason for that; nobody bought them. Car and Driver reports that Alfa only managed to find 144 people (who still believe in love and beauty) to buy the Alfa Romeo 4C in 2019. For 2020, they only enriched 96 people’s lives, according to Goodcarbadcar. And, that is a damn shame.
Let’s take a look back at the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider
The buying options as of the latest model were simple, to say the least. There was only one way to get it, convertible. There was an option for upgrading speakers from Alpine and a clear bra, but other than and color, those were pretty much the run of the game.
How fast is the Alfa Romeo 4C?
The endearing Alfa Romeo 4C came with a 237-hp turbocharged four-cylinder. The only misstep the Alfa 4C ever made was that it did not have a manual transmission. It is especially strange for a car that has manual steering and zero amenities of any kind. However, I didn’t come here to curse the dead. The power and throttle response is snappy and clean. Unlike so many carmakers now, Alfa knew better than to give the 4C 1000000049 hp and the same torque as the Titanic. That trend is getting tired, and this was one of the precious few cars left that knew what we actually needed and gave it to us.
Alfa Romeo 4C Suspension and handling
No one, not even I, will say the Alfa Romeo 4C was a comfortable car. I might even say that you might be more comfortable in a pioneer’s wagon when it comes to taking rough road conditions. This stiffness gives us a delicate and nimble machine that chops an apex with precision and grace as to make-believe for a second that the driver is an F1 driver.
Interior
I’ll be honest; there isn’t much to speak of here. Alfa was kind enough to include seats and air conditioning. What else do you want? The interior is so small and straightforward that there is nothing, and I mean nothing, that the driver cannot easily reach while in the captain’s chair. I believe that Alfa is trying to look after us drivers by giving us fewer distractions and sparing us an abundance of comfort to remain focused. Thanks, Alfa.
Safety and technology
According to Car and Driver, the IIHS never crash-tested one. They say this is common, not to test smaller run sports cars, but I believe the IIHS took one look at a 4C and said, “We couldn’t possibly crash that on purpose. Send it back. It deserves to live.” As far as safety tech and driver’s aids, they’re kind of isn’t any. It has a backup camera and parking sensor, that’s it. It doesn’t even have power steering.
The Alfa Romeo 4Cs are small, cramped, ill-equipped, sparse, and uncomfortable cars that don’t have power steering. Why do I lament it, so you ask? Because it knew precisely what it was and made no apologies for its simplicity. It was a beautiful and romantic step back into the old days of European sports cars that did little else other than looking beautiful and driving around – sometimes. It is sad to see it go, but I guess I get it. Just make sure to keep an eye out for a 4C, and I bet you’ll smile big when you finally see one.
