auto italia 43N
ever has the phrase ‘drive to the
conditions’ been more appropriate. Brands
Hatch has a sheen of bitter dampness
across it that simply is refusing to budge.
Your local ice rink probably has more grip
than Brands today. And our companion for these
treacherous conditions? A highly tuned, lightened Alfa
Romeo 4C, whose builder – Jamie Porter of AlfaWorks –
has issued us with stern instructions to “keep it on the
black stuff”.
OK then, I’m prepared for the challenge. Er... not
quite. Nothing has prepared me for just how awful the
surface is. There is nogrip here. Turning into Druids
bend at what seems an ultra-gentle pace, the rear
end starts to step out. Wow. OK, let it ease itself back
into line. Pussyfoot the throttle, spot the apex, feed
the power in... it’s gone again! The rear end is
twitching more than Herbert Lom’s tick in The Pink
Panther. And this after I’ve left it till mid-morning for
the track to dry out slightly...
Hang on. Let’s pause. Rather like the back end of this
feisty Alfa, I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s rewind to
the reason why we’re at Brands in the first place.
That’s simple: since we last drove the AlfaWorks 4C on
Cambridgeshire B-roads three years ago (Auto Italia
August 2016), there have been quite a few updates.
Perhaps the most important single item is the new
bespoke ECU. It’s been developed because it was
becoming difficult for the standard ECU to cope with
the increasing power of AlfaWorks’ mods – the engine
and gearbox ECUs talk to each other and there was
FOUR
CAST
What’s the prediction
when combining the
latest, lightened, power-
enhanced AlfaWorks 4C
with a cold, greasy
Brands Hatch? A day
of utter exhilaration,
that’s what
Story by Chris Rees
Photography by Michael Ward