Crystal ball time; what will happen to 4C prices after production ends ? ?

Crystal ball time; what will happen to 4C prices after production ends ?

 

I think they’ll continue to depreciate a bit and then, maybe one day, they’ll increase. Their appeal is quite narrow it seems but that can always change overnight.

 

I never loved the styling and ingress/egress is difficult. Those factors alone will hold them back. I think maybe a small bump down then fairly normal depreciation. Do they have a 15-20 year horizon where they jump? I don't know but suspect not since cars will be mostly electric by then and likely many self driving.

 

I really don't care one way or the other in terms of depreciation - as long as I have one to enjoy I am happy - super fun little cars. Had a girl walk up to the 4c, saying "I don't care or know much about cars, but that is one cool car. What is it?" It brings up positive feelings in people... My guess would be normal depreciation.

 

Perhaps Elise / Exige offers some clues.

 

It will be interesting to see what happens.

 

It will drop just like all other Alfa's and Maserati's. Look at the Maserati 4200/Gransport Spyders for example. They made half as many as the 4C and they cost $100,00.00 + new. With a Ferrari motor , not a FIAT based motor and they look better than the 4C and were more drivable for daily use. Still one can be had for less than $20,000.00 now in great condition.


The 4C will drop so don't buy as an investment but instead as a toy. 20 years from now I think they will be great collector items just like I think the Maserati Spyders will be in 10 years. Even the 8C dropped down to below $150,000.00 before going back up and that was a rare speciale. That might be due for a correction down also, we will see as it is a lot rarer. Don't take advice from owners

 

Problem with cars built in the last 20 years is the support structure needed to keep the cars going after the manufacture bails. Alfa dealer support was never the best but the cars were simple enough for fans to keep them going. I think with Porsche going electric and Teslas roadster coming on line keeping ICE low volume production cars like the 4C going is not going to be easy. I love the 4C but the best Alfa dealer is 5 hours away. With no support I close I did not buy one. ( I am a pretty good mechanic and have rebuilt 15 Alfa's and a Ferrari Lusso)

 

It’s already hard to get coupes.

To me it will have normal depreciation. But I never thought my Dino would gather much money either so who am I to say?

 

The 4C delivers a very special driving experience unlike any modern car on the road--cost no object. It is a hand build carbon tubbed car extremely light car. The design concept is cohesive. The car is not practical in terms of storage and gizmos--something that contemporary buyers may care about but collectors most certainly won't.

I think the car will be as or more special 10years from now as it is today.

Once the existing cars sell out and 1st quick turnaround cars go from 1st owners to 2nd keepers I think they will drift higher in price.

The car will be attractive to buy on a spec because even if it depreciates from here it is an awfully small price to pay for a very special driving experience.



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This is how I see it as well. Short term depreciation then robust appreciation.
There simply is nothing else out there that is similar even the Lotus is quite different in that it is of conventional construction and its "only a Lotus".
Hey I bought and have a 84 turbo Esprit that I thought was going to be very attractive to collectors. Its the only car in my 7 car collection that has stagnated.

I see the 4C as a modern Lancia Stratos or Dino.
I wished they had raced it more.

 

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I had great hopes for the 4C. In the end, I thought that the proportions were awkward with the roof too tall and the tires/wheels too small and buried in the wheel wells. I took the stock image and “tweaked” the roof and tires/wheels a bit. I think this shows the potential that “could have been” to be a modern Stratos/Dino (especially with a normally aspirated V6 to give it the music it deserves). I also think they lost a lot of potential enthusiasts/customers without a manual gearbox option.

Freeman

 

Those visual improvements look cool, but I am not sure they will work in reality. The car is pretty small so not much headroom can be cut out. RE the wheels, they are actually quite big for the size of the car and you can always use spacers--although the advantage of spacers alone will be cosmetic only and probably worsen the suspension geometry without other modifications.

RE, the engine, at first I wasn't sure about the turbo four. However now that I know the car much better it is an engine choice that is highly consistent with the ethos of the car and the history of Alfa Romeo. The engine is particularly lightweight and has enough power for the car. What makes the car amazing to drive is the light weight--adding an extra two cylinders would not help with that.

And on the engine, it is not only a good choice RE weight saving it is an engine that can draw it's history back to the Alfa "Nord" engine and Alfa engines from the 50s. For collectability I think that is pretty interesting. One other interesting note, it was Alfa not Honda that came up with VVT. I think in 1980 (Honda didn't come until 89). By the accounts I have read this is quite am interesting engine in terms of the tech inside and it's weight--and the ultimate evolution at the end of a long lone of Alfa 4 cylnder engines.

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Here’s a packaging comparison I did with the 4C and the 246GT Dino (WB 2400mm vs 2301mm) and the 4C and the latest 2018 Lotus Exige (WB 2400mm vs 2370mm)

Freeman

 

I wonder how it would look slightly longer. I think the car does look really good in the flesh as though.

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The core styling is good but it needs tuning and leaning out to bring out its potential. Lengthening it would make it look sleeker but I think the real proportional issue could have been resolved by leaning it out. The fender/cowl/belt heights are really high when compared to the Exige. If you brought this down, you wouldn’t need taller tires/wheels. You’d focus on spacing them out to give a great stance. Keeping it small keeps the weight down. Modern sports cars have gotten huge, complex and heavy.

 

There are lots of safety requirements to meet...that is probably why it is the last of the lightweight alfas

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Will the carbon tub denature enough in 30 years so the car falls to dust? Italian manufacture is always suspect. Autoclaved carbon and bonded attachments are sure to weaken over time.

 

Hmm right like the f40? Or f50. Those seem to be holding up very well even with old composite materials.

Composite are not really new anymore and there are quite a few on the road now. I Would be more concerned if it was the first of it's kind, I think it is pretty well understood at this point. After all they are making planes out if it ..

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F40 was steel chassis. We will have to see how the resins hold up in the carbon in 30 years or 50 like a Dino today. Can you do an fca trackday without the steel suspension pickup point ripping off the chassis?

 

Ok. How about a McLaren F1. Plenty of carbon cars pre Alfa Romeo..and plenty of ild carbon racecars in the track too.

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This is a package comparison between the new Lamborghini Huracan height 1165mm vs 1220mm height of the 4C. I lined up the rockers to show the differences in cabin height.

 

Does not surprise me, the Huracan has an extremely low roofline and very little headroom. I drove the Superleggerave and there is no way I could fit in with a helmet. I am about 6ft. The car had the racing seats in it. Not for certain if they sit lower than the regular seats but I would assume so.

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Yes and with the technical difficulty of composite repair would you buy a damaged but repaired cf race car? At least annually someone rights off an F1 car. All carbon can be repaired but will it function the same. F1 discard of chassis’s would lead me to think otherwise. The Mac f1 isn’t that old. My bro is an engineer Ironman triathlete. Those serious Riders time out cf bikes all the time. My bro is on his 3rd. I suspect the same with air frames.

 

Not an expert on bikes, but I would think they are different in that a very small amount of weight makes a big difference. Further, bikes, as far as I know, are not designed for the same lifespan or for crashes or other "g" events (or range of GS) the ways cars are.

I made no comment on repair, more that there are plenty of carbon cars doing fine--evem very old ones that are still tracked today.

For a road car, insurance companies are pretty quick to write off cars that have been in even a relatively minor accident. Further , from a collectibility perspective a crashed car will probably not be that collectible anyway when it comes to more modern cars. For example, the semi modern Ferraris with even minor accident history have quite a bit of diminished value compared to clean versions.

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