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16 march 2015 motormag.com.au

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and staggered wheels measuring 18

inches front and 19 inches rear.

Both versions use a highly-

tuned mid-mounted version of the

Alfa’s 1.75-litre turbo four pushing

177kW/350Nm to the rear wheels

through a six-speed dual-clutch

gearbox. Drivers can choose from

four modes: All-weather, Natural,

Dynamic and Race, the latter of

which disables the ESC and allows

the activation of launch control.

Thus engaged, Alfa claims a

0-100km/h time of just 4.5sec,

despite Australian-spec cars

weighing a hefty 130kg more

than their European counterparts.

The difference is partly due to

Australian cars requiring extra

aluminium inserts to satisfy local

crash regulations and partly due to

the fact European cars are stripped

to the absolute bare essentials in

the name of achieving that headline

895kg (dry) weight figure.

In contrast, Australian cars come

with leather seats, air-conditioning,

a radio and bluetooth all fitted

standard, ‘luxuries’ the European

cars go without.

As mentioned, the 4C range is

soon to be bolstered by the arrival

of a targa-top Spider version.

Thanks to the ultra-stiff carbon-fibre

structure, performance is claimed

to be identical to the fixed-top 4C,

with the biggest difference

between the two being the

headlights, the Spider replacing

the Coupe’s arachnid-like eyes with

proper units.

The Spider will carry a price

premium when it arrives in 2016, but

in the meantime we’ll be driving the

Coupe shortly, with a full review in a

future issue.M

I

N a strange coincidence, at

almost the same time the covers

were coming off the new Alfa

Romeo 4C Spider at the Detroit

Motor Show, the first Australian-

spec Coupes were rolling off a

boat in Melbourne. With strong

international demand and limited

supply – built at Maserati’s plant in

Modena, 4C production is limited

to around 3500 a year – Australian

customers have been forced to

wait over a year for the first local

examples to arrive.

Pricing is set at $89,000 for

the base 4C and $109,000 for

the higher-spec ‘Launch Edition’.

Limited to 1300 units worldwide,

with 75 for Australia, the Launch

Edition is essentially a fully loaded

4C, with sports suspension, a race

exhaust, plenty of carbon-fibre

trinketry inside and out, sports seats

Local-spec revealed on Italian sportster

Alfa’s 4C assault

Cool TFT

instruments come

standard (far left);

compact 1.75-litre

turbo four puffs

out 177kW/350Nm

(left); spartan

European spec has

been beefed up for

Aussie buyers but

means weight has

crept up

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