Official: Alfa Romeo 4C

[torquemada]

[u2b]2LcFhoOtEBo[/u2b]

[old greg]

Originally Posted by fatoni

they arent even importing the elise or exige to the states anymore.

To be fair, Toyota no longer manufactures the 2ZZ-GE and nothing from the Toyota parts bin can really fill its shoes. You can still buy an Elise in Europe, but they come with a 132 hp 1ZR-FAE (which would be a sales disaster in America). That's the reason why the 2012 Exige has a V6 and weighs ~2400lbs.

[fatoni]

Originally Posted by old greg

To be fair, Toyota no longer manufactures the 2ZZ-GE and nothing from the Toyota parts bin can really fill its shoes. You can still buy an Elise in Europe, but they come with a 132 hp 1ZR-FAE (which would be a sales disaster in America). That's the reason why the 2012 Exige has a V6 and weighs ~2400lbs.

good points but i think anybody who would ever buy a new elise has already bought one. lotus could source anothoer cool (if not cooler) motor if they wanted but danny bahar is trying to go upscale which means over 300lbs to the elise. that seems stupid to me but even at their prime in the usa they werent selling more than 3k a year and i imagine now the number has dropped dramatically to the 100-300 range.

[Neutral_Eyes]

Unfortunately that's a doctor's car, and not a broke-ass 20-something's car.

[old greg]

Originally Posted by fatoni

good points but i think anybody who would ever buy a new elise has already bought one.

People trade in cars for newer models all the time, and cars that get taken to the track are prone to accidents. Beyond that, people get older every year, and young broke college kids eventually turn into successful yuppies/suburbanites with disposable incomes and burgeoning mid-life crises. 'Ever' is a very big word.

Originally Posted by fatoni

lotus could source anothoer cool (if not cooler) motor if they wanted

Danny Bahar may be a d-bag, but with Lotus and Toyota being such close partners there really isn't any other engine option for the Elise. Lotus can't exactly go off and beg Honda for a few thousand K20's without screwing up their relationship with Toyota.

[fatoni]

Originally Posted by old greg

People trade in cars for newer models all the time, and cars that get taken to the track are prone to accidents. Beyond that, people get older every year, and young broke college kids eventually turn into successful yuppies/suburbanites with disposable incomes and burgeoning mid-life crises. 'Ever' is a very big word.



Danny Bahar may be a d-bag, but with Lotus and Toyota being such close partners there really isn't any other engine option for the Elise. Lotus can't exactly go off and beg Honda for a few thousand K20's without screwing up their relationship with Toyota.

again youre right with all that jazz but i just see too many sub 20k mile cars that have been stuck in a garage for under $30k to even think about buying a new one. i just dont think its a sustainable niche for a car in america. once the market shifts to favor a new car again i will reassess my opinions

[serialk11r]

Speaking of Lotus, HOLY CRAP supercharged 2GR in the Exige, that will be one ridiculously fast car.

As far as the 1ZR-FAE goes, I don't see why Lotus didn't try to bump the power up. Their "tuning" gave it like, 4hp? It has 78.5mm stroke, yet is 1 inch taller than the 2ZZ, suggesting the rods are pretty long. They could've at least tried to raise the rev limit. Or just throw in a 2ZR-FAE.

[ZetaVI]

Pretty Car. Hefty Price. I'm not sure it will sell for that price because I'm not even sure of the demand of Alfa's here. I do like Alfa Romeo.

[Matador]

and will be priced at 45k GBP

Imagine your dream car. What might it include? Lightweight carbon-fiber construction, high-tech engine behind the seats, legendary Italian badge on the nose.... The thing is, that usually means a big fat price tag that runs well into the six figures, if not seven. But while this latest Italian sports car is set to include all those ingredients, its price point is set decidedly lower.

We're talking about the Alfa Romeo 4C, the nimble-looking little number that debuted in delicious matte red at the Geneva show last year, and in liquid-metal finish in Frankfurt just a few months ago. Rumors have been circulating of its imminent production ever since its debut, but now the blokes over at Top Gear say that have the final details on good authority.

According to the report, Fiat has crunched the numbers and figured out how it can produce the 4C while neither breaking the bank nor spoiling the formula. And so the supercar is set to begin testing in the new year and hit the market in the next. And the price? £45,000, according to TG, which equates to about $70K at today's exchange rates. To put that into perspective, consider that is the same starting price in the British market as the Porsche Cayman S – a model which starts here at $62K.

The Cayman is an ambitious target, but the 4C promises to be both smaller and lighter. A new direct-injection turbo four will drive 230 horsepower to the rear wheels via a dual-clutch gearbox for a 4.5-second sprint to sixty, but is tipped to yield more powerful versions with as much as 300hp on tap and even a roadster version later on.

That last bit promises to be easier to pull off thanks to the carbon-fiber tub – engineered by Dallara – to which aluminum sub-frames will be attached front and rear. The Italian chassis constructor is best known for its racing cars, but also developed the KTM X-Bow, which could in and of itself give us the best idea of what to expect if and when the 4C assumes the place originally reserved for the 8C Competizione in finally heralding Alfa's return to the North American market.

[griso]

I think 4C will be only a "dream" for all Alfa's Lovers.....
AR is dead years ago.....it doesn't have any sport models in collection...Well I think MiTo and Giulietta are not really sport cars for AR brand.. Brera and Spider are out of production(even if them were not more sports).

[Levi]

This Alfa does not really interest me. Mid-rear transversal engine is the worst RWD layout (no, I like the NSX, but I like it even more if the engine was straight). And Alfa is known for high revving NA V6's, not small turbocharged I4. If the 4C costs as much as a Cayman, hands down the Cayman gets my vote.

[griso]

Originally Posted by Levi

And Alfa is known for high revving NA V6's

The "Busso",not GM....now AR's engine are 1750 tb..

[70NYD]

Can't Translate money like that..
Think 86 price in us, uk, jap etc.. Not a straight conversion

[ZDan]

Really looking forward to this. Much needed since Lotus went to the dark (heavy) side...

Hopefully they'll do this one too:

Italian S2000, anyone?!