Alfa 4C - "Without The Heart We Would Be Mere Machines"

That's fuel consumption in European cycle (NEDC) in imperial gallons (UK).

UK 2014 Porsche Cayman PDK 36.7 MPG combined
US 2014 Porsche Cayman PDK 26 MPG combined

 

Alfa Romeo 4C to sell at Maserati stores - Autoblog

VERY interesting. Honestly, it might be a good idea to start selling the 4C through Maserati dealers until full fledge Alfa dealers could be up and running (which doesn't seem likely by second quarter 2014).

Mark

 

BrankoBox,
good point, with a price in Pounds, the 41mpg has to be larger Imperial gallons

 

Autoweek reported 34.6 MPG combined - article posted on AutoGallery's (Los Angeles based Ferrari, Maserati, FIAT, etc. dealer) site:
2014 Alfa Romeo 4C drive review

 

That Alfa/Maserati rumor is a few months old. Several people I talked to said this was very possible and it does make sense as FIAT dealers in North America and Europe are not doing very well. Alfa and Maserati prices do not step on each other or overlap to much. Time for a dealer shake up...........I can see all but the Abarth FIAT's going away in N.A. and maybe Europe as well within a few years. As for the N.A. FIAT dealers, I bet they say Chrysler Jeep on their store fronts within a few years. Or maybe M will come up with a new name for the main automobile brands.

 

The local fiat dealer is small. I'd be surprised if it were to carry Chrysler jeeps...in the future.

Alfa should be paired with fiat if fiat dealers are to survive....

The fiat business plan was flawed if it does not include Alfa soon.

These dealers are on a shoe string budget....as you mentioned and it's obvious to consumers as anyone enters the dealerships....

 

4C needs servicing every 12.5K miles or once a year.

Quick news: Facelift Skoda Yeti prices; Free MG6 upgrades; Alfa Romeo 4C servicing | Autocar

 

User manual in Italian (not available in English yet) http://aftersales.fiat.com/eLumData/IT/83/643_4C/83_643_4C_604.38.556_IT_01_09.13_L_LG/83_643_4C_604.38.556_IT_01_09.13_L_LG.pdf
Techno design book http://www.alfaromeopress.com/download/2013/ALFA_ROMEO/Gallery/book4C/131004_AR_4C_THE_TECHNO-DESIGN_BOOK.pdf
First picture of the US version rear bumper.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Oh.. good god. I knew Chrysler would screw this up. I hope you can take those awful things off.

I really don't get it. They work to reduce weight and then add meaningless license plate frames? UGH!!!!!

 

I agree! Is it possible that it is purely a regulations thing? Porsche used to have those years ago no?

 

Those frames are because of FMVSS rear crash test regulations. There are corresponding metal bumperettes on the rear subframe under the plastic covers. So you'd have to hack those off.

 

FMVSS 581:
49 CFR Part 581, "The bumper standard," prescribes performance requirements for passenger cars in low-speed front and rear collisions. It applies to front and rear bumpers on passenger cars to prevent the damage to the car body and safety related equipment at barrier impact speeds of 2 mph across the full width and 1 mph on the corners.

This is equivalent to a 5 mph crash into a parked vehicle of the same weight. The standard requires protection in the region 16 to 20 inches above the road surface, and the manufacturer can provide the protection by any means it wants. For example, some vehicles do not have a solid bumper across the vehicle, but meet the standard by strategically placed bumper guards and corner guards.

Lotus somehow got an exemption in 2005, but I suspect Alfa can't get one. So you have to put warts up high to pass the test. Alfa must not have designed the car with a mind of an integrated way to pass the US FMVSS 581

Notably, this requirement is expressly UN-related to safety, and I don't understand why a buyer cannot knowingly accept greater fragility in exchange for appearance.

 

Well, I have to see one at the LA Auto show. But, every time I hear about the US version, I get less impressed.

The McLaren doesn't have this stuff. The Lambo doesn't have this stuff. They are both CF tubs so I don't understand Alfa's problem --- aside from it's "Alfa" of course!

 

This is not related to the CF tub at all. It's just an issue related to the rear crash structure. Porsche, up to the 997, added rear bumperettes to US-spec variants for the same reason. From the 991 onwards, they are cosmetically unmolested. But I'm fairly positive the actual bumper beam is still different from Euro-spec vehicles. The US-spec 8C, too, had a specific rear bumper beam and the rear bumper cover was CF instead of R-RIM.

I saw the US-spec 4C rear crash structure, and I'm guessing adding bumperettes was the lightest (and cheapest) way to make it comply with Federal regs. I'll try to take a picture of said rear crash structure, if I see it again.

 

In practice, it would likely be the insurance companies assuming that fragility, and they have no interest in that. Maybe an army of lobbyist have made sure there are no exemptions made...

 

Normally it is the Europeans that get to pay the price by having US specific stuff added to their cars. Put the blame where it belongs, on US legislators.
May be getting mine in January.

 

January? Where are you based?
I should get mine in mid Dec.
We still got those beautiful side reflectors in Europe thanks to the US legislation....

 

This may explain why Alfa's US plans seem never to be finalized and why we can't get any solid information. Watch the Bloomberg video embedded here.


Does Alfa Romeo's US return hinge on Chrysler-Fiat deal? - Autoblog

 

Here's a (partly cut up) 4C US-spec rear crash structure. The Euro-spec bumper beam, apart from the lack of bumperettes, is also a lot narrower (it ends where the longitudinal beams are).
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Great review by Car Magazine:

"And yet. The 4C is so much more of a statement, so exhilarating to drive, so crude and pure and exotic. Only about 1000 units a year will come to the United States, and the waiting list is said to be six months. To whet your appetite, there are six paint colors to choose from, four types of upholstery, the aforementioned racing package, and a tasteful luxury package.The Alfa can pull 1.1 g's on the skidpad and 1.25 g's under braking. That's knocking on Ferrari territory, just like the gleaming, naked, carbon-fiber weave that shapes the tall sills and the tapered footwells. Conceptually, this is a street-legal racing car, sold at a discount price. Weight-saving technologies this sophisticated typically carry a much higher sticker than $54,000. The 4C may well emerge as one of a select few desirable and affordable new cars with a near-zero midterm depreciation forecast. Having said that, the Cayman is, of course, the more complete all-around car and the safer bet for those who travel long distances and many miles. But as soon as parking space and funds permit the purchase of a second car, an Alfa Romeo 4C should be on every gearhead's want list. A mere four days after relinquishing the keys, I was already feeling strong withdrawal symptoms and longing for an encore.

Read more: 2014 Alfa Romeo 4C vs 2014 Porsche Cayman - Comparison - Automobile Magazine

 

Did Automobile run a US-spec 4C at Balocco?

 

Here's a nice video: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4CxSwqe230&sns=fb]New Alfa Romeo 4C acceleration 0-234 km/h - YouTube[/ame]

 

Hope this isn't a re-post (showing assembly of the 4C at the Maserati factory):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTx3dAliZn4

 

Full review from Evo Magazine....pretty good
http://cdn.app.evo.co.uk/editions/uk.co.dennis.evo.189_8/data/66_d4a08ed6e0c35ef8cf89f526b1251ab5/web.html

 

LOL!!!!

There's a waiting list to figure out who is going to have a waiting list. As far as I can see, Fiat hasn't even decided yet not only when to send to the US but who will sell them.

How can you have a waiting list if there's not one to take an order????