How Does the Alfa 4C Stack Up Against the Toyota GT 86 / Scion FR-S & Porsche Cayman?

[Atropine]

If anyone on here bought their BRZ or FR-S because they thought it would be the fastest car around a track or on a straight-away....they are dumb.

The Twins are really FUN to drive. But I can name a bunch of cars that will crush it around a track.

I bought my BRZ because its fun, warrantied, and reasonably priced and gets decent gas mileage.

If you want a fire-breathing dragon for cheap...get a Mustang GT or a Nissan 370 or an STI.

If you want to zoom around a race track...get a Lotus (if you are willing to spend more money) or get an older MR2 (for cheap) and accept that you will put some money into it.

Bang for the buck...the Twins are an incredible value and unless your last name is Andretti...you are NOT driving it at its limit.

Signed...
A guy who has owned an SRT8 Challenger (too much car for me), a Nismo 350Z (was great, but was not my favorite) an STI (offered very little feedback) and 2 AW-11 MR2's (miss those little death-traps).

Be happy with your purchase because its a really fun car to drive. If you find yourself wanting more...either mod it, trade it in, or just STFU.

@fatoni...you exaggerate the price on the New Miata build, but your point is well taken here...Miatas are fantastic cars and I was VERY close to getting a Black PHRT Club edition...I just could not find the color combo I wanted, and then I got a great deal on my Limited BRZ. But yeah, Miatas are a ton of fun coming out of the box and their aftermarket scene is fantastic.

[thill]

What makes the FT86 (and the Miata) so great is that you don't have to be Randy Pobst to drive these cars around the track. They are both slower, but they both are easy to drive to the limits (the stock Miata needs some additional suspension mods to get there) and are very rewarding cars to drive at the track. Yes, you will get lapped (usually) by faster cars, but that is not the point. The point is you can pretty much have the gas pedal down around the corners and still have full control of the car. The stock tires were picked more for drifting than lap times, but the car is still a blast to throw around with the stock tires because it is easy to break traction where the FT86 is usually at it's most fun

I agree with the guy above. If you buy the FT86 in stock form thinking you will be the fastest guy around the track you will get lapped all day by Mustangs, Focus ST's, etc.

[EAGLE5]

Wanna go fast on the track? Get a tube frame and an ls1. Wanna have fun on the street? Get an frs. Wanna look good? Get an alfa.

[Ganthrithor]

Originally Posted by jsimon7777

Wanna go fast on the track? Get a tube frame and an ls1. Wanna have fun on the street? Get an frs. Wanna look good? Get an alfa.

Wanna do all this shit and fetch the groceries? Get a Porsche

[EAGLE5]

Originally Posted by Ganthrithor

Wanna do all this shit and fetch the groceries? Get a Porsche

I dunno. I hear about what porsche drivers have to do to track their cars. Sounds expensive. A good purpose built race car will lap more for less money and less maintenance all while going faster.

[vh_supra26]

[Turbowned]

Thought I'd revive this thread, since all the 4C discussion here seemed to end in 2014 before the car even hit our shores. Has anyone traded for a 4C yet and still lurking on the forum? Is anyone else considering a 4C now that they're dropping into the low 40's? I'm having a tough time resisting the temptation to own a carbon fiber chassis Italian baby supercar for cheap(ish). The performance is impressive, they're really fun to drive (I test drove a Spider last year), the twin clutch gearbox is not as good as a manual but good enough, and they look so gorgeous! Owners report reliability to be pretty good overall (surprisingly) and I don't think consumable costs or reliability will be any worse than say, a modified BRZ wearing big brakes, 18 or 19" wheels, and aftermarket forced induction.

It also helps that there's a 4C specialty shop just an hour north of me in Denver; can get high-altitude specific tuning and source all the uprgades necessary to break into the 300bhp range. That's plenty for me in a <2500lb car!

[HKz]

Originally Posted by Turbowned

Thought I'd revive this thread, since all the 4C discussion here seemed to end in 2014 before the car even hit our shores. Has anyone traded for a 4C yet and still lurking on the forum? Is anyone else considering a 4C now that they're dropping into the low 40's? I'm having a tough time resisting the temptation to own a carbon fiber chassis Italian baby supercar for cheap(ish). The performance is impressive, they're really fun to drive (I test drove a Spider last year), the twin clutch gearbox is not as good as a manual but good enough, and they look so gorgeous! Owners report reliability to be pretty good overall (surprisingly) and I don't think consumable costs or reliability will be any worse than say, a modified BRZ wearing big brakes, 18 or 19" wheels, and aftermarket forced induction.

It also helps that there's a 4C specialty shop just an hour north of me in Denver; can get high-altitude specific tuning and source all the uprgades necessary to break into the 300bhp range. That's plenty for me in a <2500lb car!

@Braces made that jump, maybe he's still around..

[dhuang]

Originally Posted by Turbowned

Thought I'd revive this thread...

I've been entertaining the same idea along similar reasoning to what you've stated -- Especially considering that FCA might be killing off the 4C soon.

I know of two people on this forum have made the transition: @Braces and @MarkR171.

[SUB-FT86]

I will buy one of these sometime in the future. It's a car design for me since it was Italian sports cars(Countach and F50) that made me a sports car lover. But this car is just more fun size and affordable

[Sasquachulator]

ehh I dunno if I would.
I'd probably pick something else over the 4C.

With anything Italian, i'd need some money in the bank for piece of mind in case anything happens to go wrong. I tend to keep my cars for a long time, and i'd want it to actually last a long time.

Besides, if and when I get a twin, the upgrade path has to have a manual transmission. The final stage of my car ownership path is going to be something like an LC500 or thereabouts. At that point is when I'll happily use a automatic transmission of some kind. Perhaps even hanging onto something like a Twin or its ilk with a manual transmission.

[WolfpackS2k]

Never considered a 4C because of the transmission.

FYI 2018 is the last year of the coupe. Only the convertible will be available next year.

[SuperTom]

Originally Posted by Turbowned

Thought I'd revive this thread, since all the 4C discussion here seemed to end in 2014 before the car even hit our shores. Has anyone traded for a 4C yet and still lurking on the forum? Is anyone else considering a 4C now that they're dropping into the low 40's? I'm having a tough time resisting the temptation to own a carbon fiber chassis Italian baby supercar for cheap(ish). The performance is impressive, they're really fun to drive (I test drove a Spider last year), the twin clutch gearbox is not as good as a manual but good enough, and they look so gorgeous! Owners report reliability to be pretty good overall (surprisingly) and I don't think consumable costs or reliability will be any worse than say, a modified BRZ wearing big brakes, 18 or 19" wheels, and aftermarket forced induction.

It also helps that there's a 4C specialty shop just an hour north of me in Denver; can get high-altitude specific tuning and source all the uprgades necessary to break into the 300bhp range. That's plenty for me in a <2500lb car!

4C one of my favorite cars but out of my budget. Trying to get my 86 near 4C specs with some weight reduction. Down to 2526lbs and have some light carbon fiber seats on the way. And have ACE headers and Delicious tune to get the power up.

[mrg666]

With an Edelbrock or JRSC, our cars have a power/weight ratio in the same class as base Cayman or 4C. Add suspension, brakes, tires/wheels, and oil cooler (plus clutch for MT), a twin can compete with those cars on track. I would only go for such a car for status upgrade not the car. To me, an upgrade would be 911 or Corvette ZR1.