Alfa Romeo returns to the Geneva Motor Show with a spectacular booth that unfolds like a winding, dynamic road, the ideal place to present the world première of the Alfa Romeo 4C, the ‘compact supercar’ which represents the true essence of a sports car, embodying the authentic values of the brand: Italian style, performance, and technical excellence, offering maximum driving satisfaction in total safety.
Designed by Alfa Romeo and produced in the Maserati plant in Modena, the beguiling mid-engined rear-wheel drive coupé with 2 bucket seats will be available for purchase in 2013 and it will be the first car to mark the return of the Italian brand to the United States and thus inaugurate Alfa Romeo’s global growth plan.
Derived directly from the concept which raised many eyebrows in wonder at the Geneva Motor Show in 2011, the Alfa Romeo 4C uses technologies and materials derived from the 8C Competizione – carbon, aluminium, rear-wheel drive – and technologies from the latest standard models from Alfa Romeo currently on the market, but thoroughly developed to enhance the sports appeal of the new car to the full. This is demonstrated by the new 1750 Turbo Petrol engine with direct injection and aluminium block, the sophisticated “Alfa TCT” twin dry clutch transmission and the Alfa DNA selector with the brand-new Race mode.
A length of approximately 4 metres and a wheelbase of less than 2.4 metres: these dimensions on the one hand emphasise the car’s compact attributes while also accentuating its agility on the other. In addition, the excellent dynamic features of Alfa Romeo 4C are confirmed by a weight to power ratio of less than 4 kg/HP; it’s a value worthy of a real ‘supercar’. This vehicle quite simply screams Alfa. Its sports car soul creates a unique driving sensation, both on the road and when racing, where its velocity and transverse acceleration become even more demanding.
The public at the Geneva Motor Show will be able to admire some examples of the Alfa Romeo 4C on display and will even be able to get hands-on experience of the most innovative technological content: the engine-transmission unit dissected so that you can see its tiniest details and the suspended carbon fibre chassis to emphasise its lightness, surrounded by a transparent profile which takes up the line of the 4C to help visitors contextualise the position of the body in relation to the body of the car.
Beside the Alfa Romeo 4C, the booth will also be exhibiting two MiTo vehicles: a Limited Edition Superbike 170 HP of 200 models and a Superbike 1.4 135 HP TCT Special Series, customised with the original SBK kit. Both special versions are inspired by the MiTo, Official Safety Car of the “FIM SBK Superbike World Championship”, a witness to the winning team of the brand and the Championship, starting in 2007, that best conveys Italian motor racing style and experience around the world.
The spotlights will also be trained on the Alfa Romeo Giulietta which will be débuting the brand-new Veloce (“Fast”) version in Geneva, an evocative name from the Alfa Romeo tradition, devised in 1956 together with the Giulietta. The versions bearing this name were created with the specific purpose of identifying cars distinguished by specific equipment which emphasised their sports character. Today, just like then, the Giulietta Veloce responds to the needs of a clientèle looking for contents and styling details with a particularly distinctive and sporty spirit. The end result is a striking car that expresses Alfa Romeo values in the very best light.
Alongside these new products, the public will also get the chance to admire the powerful Quadrifoglio Verde and the Giulietta equipped with the exclusive “QV Sportiva” pack, dedicated to all customers looking for a car with exciting performance, top-level technological equipment and distinctive styling.
Both the cars and a dedicated area of the booth will show the exclusive accessories produced by Mopar®, the Fiat Spa and Chrysler Group LLC division that deals with Customer Service activities and Parts & Service operations. Specifically, the Alfa Romeo MiTo SBK is equipped with rear dam and side skirts, while Giulietta offers carbon parts – such as the spoiler, door mirror fairings, the gear knob and dashboard inserts – as well as the velour mats with the ‘Giulietta’ logo and customised valve caps. The Mopar® display is to be completed with the merchandising products dedicated to the Alfa Romeo 4C supercar shown in special display cases.
For the Brand, the World Première of the Alfa Romeo 4C represents the occasion to launch the exclusive merchandising collection inspired by the new ‘super compact’, created working closely with Mopar®. Thanks to the support of the Alfa Romeo Style Centre, the products were conceived and produced to reflect the sports essence of the new model and reinforce its premium identity, both in the design and in the materials used (aluminium, carbon, leather). This way, the connection between the model and the products of the merchandising line is clear and indissoluble.
The product range, the development of which was coordinated by Mopar®, includes various types of item: the more iconic, able to express the brand’s image and the content of its DNA to the full, such as the all-carbon long-board, the aluminium luge and the carbon sunglasses. Then, those characterised by fashion and lifestyle, such as the high-impermeability raincoat, the carbon-brushed sweatshirt with softshell inserts and the waterproof backpack. A more technological area is occupied by the ski goggles or snowboard with GPS connection for augmented reality, the ceramic clock and the handmade carbon and aluminium pen, while the car-shaped USB drive and the carbon cover for iPhone or iPad are more geared towards fun.
What’s more, in response to the huge demand from fans of the Brand, Alfa Romeo and Mopar® are launching the new e-commerce portal right in Geneva. Within the portal, you can purchase all merchandising products, including the high-quality Alfa Romeo vintage line and the new line dedicated to the 4C, plus a vast range of accessories for personalising your car.
Alfa Romeo will be offering visitors to the Geneva Motor Show 2013 an original experience linked to the launch of the Alfa Romeo 4C. Specifically, the exhibition space will be fitted with a laboratory with two latest-generation 3D printers which will be producing, in real-time throughout the show, a limited series of gadgets in PLA, a biodegradable plastic, mirroring the style of the Alfa Romeo ‘compact supercar’. Visitors who wish to collect their own unique and customised item free of charge can reserve it on the website: 4c.alfaromeo.com. Once at the booth, they will be invited to select the colour of the reserved item using an interactive panel and witness its physical production with their own eyes, layer after layer, then collect it. Indeed, 3D printers make it possible to create any item and they are the last frontier in digital customisation. Conceived by Seac02, this initiative is implemented with the collaboration of Fablab Torino, the first Italian ‘fabrication laboratory’ specialising in production and digital fabrication.
Finally, visitors will be introduced to the products of FGA Capital, a finance company specialising in the automotive sector, through illustrative materials and dedicated media at the booth. The finance company is operative in all the major European markets, and in Switzerland with Fidis Finance, with a sole mission: to support the sales of all Fiat Group Automobiles brand vehicles by offering innovative financial products with high added value services targeted to the dealership network, private customers and companies.
World première: Alfa Romeo 4C
The final version of the Alfa Romeo 4C makes its début at the 83rd International Motor Show in Geneva. This mid-engined rear-wheel drive coupé with two bucket seats represents the true essence of a sports car at the heart of Alfa Romeo’s DNA: performance, Italian style and technical excellence, offering maximum driving satisfaction in total safety.
Designed by Alfa Romeo engineers and produced in the Maserati plant in Modena, the new ‘compact supercar’ will be available for purchase in 2013, marking the return of the Italian brand to the United States and inaugurating Alfa Romeo’s global growth plan.
The Alfa Romeo 4C derives directly from the concept which raised many eyebrows in wonder at the Geneva Show in 2011, so much so that it won three prestigious awards: the ‘AutoBild Design Award’ (2011, Germany), the ‘Design Award for Concept Cars & Prototypes’ (2012, Italy) and the ‘Most Exciting Car of 2013’ – ‘What Car?’ (2012, Great Britain).
Acronym 4C
The acronym ‘4C’ draws its inspiration from the brand’s glorious past, projecting the values of technology and emotions into the future. Indeed, it refers to Alfa Romeo’s great sporting tradition: the acronyms 8C and 6C in the 1930s and 1940s distinguished cars – both racing and non – fitted with the powerful ‘eight cylinders’ and the innovative ‘six cylinders’, confirming in its design layout and construction the goal of achieving the weight/power ratio of an authentic supercar, less than 4 kg/HP, yet focusing not merely on the maximum power delivered, but on limiting the weight to guarantee maximum agility and top performance. To this end, the Alfa Romeo 4C uses technologies and materials derived from super sports cars (including the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione) – carbon fibre, aluminium, rear-wheel drive – and technologies from the latest standard models from Alfa Romeo, but developed to enhance the sports appeal of the new car even further. This is demonstrated by the new 1750 Turbo Petrol all-aluminium engine with direct injection, the sophisticated “Alfa TCT” twin dry clutch transmission and the Alfa DNA selector with the brand-new Race mode.
Exterior style
Designed by the Alfa Romeo Style Centre, the 4C immediately brings to mind some of the traditional iconic models which have left a significant mark in the history of the Brand. Above all others, in terms of dimensional and layout similarities, one stands out in particular: the 33 Stradale, a car that combined extreme mechanical and functional requirements with an essential style which “clothed” the engine and chassis appropriately with unmistakable Alfa Romeo treatments. The 4C has followed suit, and thus completes a journey which was embarked upon with the 8C Competizione, emphasising some particular concepts of the brand, such as compact size, dynamism and agility.
The development of the 4C’s exterior was characterised from the start by the need to enhance the style of the car and the technical characteristics both the from a dynamic and aerodynamic point of view. For this reason, all the style solutions adopted have been optimised in accordance with the ultimate goal of the car: performance.
The rear volume, sinuous and enveloping, simultaneously encloses and embraces the throbbing heart of the car: the mechanics and the engine, visible through the rear window.
All this, thanks to the development of a marked musculature above the wheels, lends strength and power to the rear end.
The rear musculature supports its structure on round rear light clusters and on the side air intakes necessary to cool the intercooler and the air intake for engine aspiration.
From this energy-charged rear volume and the two side air intakes spring the two long muscles which lend speed and dynamism to the side, generating the necessary volume at the front end to house the headlights and, on the central part, the two robust ribs running along the bonnet, tracing the unmistakable “V” come to their natural conclusion around the shield.
This, together with the two side intakes, forms the famous ‘Trefoil’, a substantial facet of Alfa Romeo’s profile.
Interior design
The elemental design and essential materials also distinguish the interior, which is all designed and built for maximum driving satisfaction. Specifically, the carbon fibre in the interior immediately stands out, used to make the central cell, which has been left in full view to enhance the sense of light weight, technology and uniqueness. The dashboard and door panels have an “asphalt ” treatment to recall the vocation of the Alfa Romeo 4C, conceived to convey maximum driving sensation from the road.
The seats, made of composite material, ensure dedicated sports posture, favouring the driver’s contact with the road without, however, compromising the comfort required for everyday use of the car.
The dashboard, simple and designed to make using functions simple too, reaches its zenith in the concept of extreme driver-orientation, thanks to digital instruments and gear shift controls located on the appropriately shaped steering wheel.
The cockpit, which powerfully suggests the world of motorcycle racing and race cars, brings together all information necessary to drive and control the car.
The information, which is rendered captivating through powerful, high-impact graphics, allows the driver to keep everything under control without distractions from controls that would be superfluous on this type of car.
The pedal unit and footboards for driver and passenger are all made of aluminium and embellish the lower part under the dashboard, highlighting sports character down to the smallest detail.
Dimensions and aerodynamics
The compact dimensions make this car with 2 bucket seats truly unique among its competitors: it is just under 4 metres long, 200 cm wide, 118 cm high and with a wheelbase of less than 2.4 metres. These dimensions serve both to emphasise the car’s “supercar proportions” and to accentuate its agility. What’s more, owing to the designers’ excellent work, the car achieves maximum aerodynamic efficiency levels, guaranteeing a negative Cz which, as in racing cars, contributes towards achieving increased stability at higher speeds thanks to the aerodynamic downforce.
New direct-injection 240 HP 1750 Turbo Petrol engine
An evolution of the engine already in use in the Quadrifoglio Verde version of the Giulietta, the new ‘4 cylinder’ 1750 Turbo Petrol engine implements an innovative aluminium block and specific intake and exhaust systems which have been optimised to enhance the sports appeal of the car even further. In addition, it boasts cutting-edge technical solutions including direct fuel injection, dual continuous variable valve timing, a turbocharger and a revolutionary scavenging control system that gets rid of any turbo lag.
Alfa TCT twin dry clutch transmission
The 1750 Turbo Petrol engine is teamed with the innovative Alfa TCT automatic twin dry clutch transmission, which is a genuine benchmark in its segment due to its limited weight and extreme speed of activation. The gears can be changed in sequential mode using the “shift paddles” located behind the steering wheel.
