Alfa Romeo 4C

A grizzled minivan, the trunk full and the whole family on the road to vacation. A 12-year-old boy frantically watches the speedometer fluctuate between 111 and 112 km/h from his back seat. His only entertainment: the fields as far as the eye can see and some sweets offered from time to time by Mum. Suddenly, a buzz approaches, the time to take a look through the passenger window and a splendid double fiery red speedster, followed closely by a friend of an immaculate white. What the drivers looked happy at their steering wheels… For the record, one of the two drivers was me, and the racing car was none other than an Alfa Romeo 4C. And to speak of happiness at this precise moment would be far too weak.

Do you remember the Stelvio QV test ? Nothing to do I know. Except that it was that day, after a great session at the wheel of the SUV on the Castellet circuit that I finally got to know my sweetheart for an hour: the wonderful Alfa Romeo 4C. Without knowing it, JF realized one of my old dreams. And the dream was going to continue the following summer when he told me with undisguised pleasure that a copy was soon to join the press fleet. Some dream of supercars, others of limousines, I will settle for a pure and hard sports car in its simplest form. That's good, the following summer is indeed the one that is ending at the moment, and I certainly won't betray the suspense much if I tell you that this 4C still haunts my nights.

Raced, the 4C perfectly combines elegance and aggression. It leaves no doubt as to its Latin origins through its traditional pointed grille, its Competizione Red dress that sparkles in the slightest ray of sunshine and its two round taillights. The profile also announces the color with a short plunging hood, with a large cantilever given the length of the beast (3.99 m), the muscular sides by side air intakes feeding the 4-cylinder 1750 cc (borrowed from the Giulietta Veloce but whose block lost a total of about twenty kg for the occasion) and finally a very short stern, with the wide rear diffuser and the two central outlets of the titanium line Akrapovic, all surmounted by a carbon spout. Our configuration includes 18-inch front and 19-rear light-alloy “telephone” rims, much more elegant than the standard ones with their very bland design. For €325, don't overlook the red stirrups.

Carbon, the 4C is covered with it. Not content with a shell made entirely of this material, allowing it to weigh only 65 kg, it sports some on the mirrors, inside the front lights, around the double exhaust outlet but also inside: center console and dashboard surround top the list. The crankset, made entirely of aluminum, also deserves attention as it is similar to that of a racing car. The 4C has all the attributes by design. Power steering? Futile. Storage space ? To do what ? Automatic air conditioning? What's the point ? A touch screen for multimedia controls? Useless when you have a good old Alpine Hi-Fi system available (hey, Alpine?…). I realize while writing these lines and checking the product sheet that the 4C does however have cruise control which would have been useful to me if I had noticed its presence. Whatever. Despite a very spartan interior, the tobacco leather and the matching stitching on the dashboard and the door panels bring a hint of refinement to the middle of this so raw ensemble. The Sabelt seats are firm, very narrow but still less enveloping than those of an Alpine A110, especially at the level of the thighs and shoulders. Only real touch of modernity, the TFT screen as a dashboard which curiously reminds me of that of ………… Lamborghini! Alfa Romeo has also achieved the feat, despite its limited size, of accommodating all the information necessary for dynamic driving (namely: turbo pressure, oil temperature, water temperature, gear engaged, engine speed and instantaneous speed) without having to use another remote screen. Lots of information to digest but everything is in its place and easy to read.

The first contact is successful. I have a feeling that we're going to have a good time, you and I, my dear. I straddle the door sill with satisfaction, a mixture of sparkling red and the exposed carbon of the shell, to literally fall into my bucket seat with its very firm seat. We quickly understand the importance of the flat steering wheel to fit his legs more or less smoothly. The rear view seems quite ridiculous, between a central rear view mirror in which I can perfectly distinguish the engine cover but not the slightest information coming from beyond and the two exterior rear view mirrors which perfectly reflect the side air intakes. Booting is done like the rest: the old fashioned way. A key to turn, it must be years since I had seen a modern sports car start up like this. Contact, a hiss worthy of an aerospace machine ready for take-off escapes from the car, engine. The sound of the small 1750 cc is quite plain to my surprise. The sound is only released via the DNA selector, by choosing the “Dynamic” or “Race” mode. Engine response and 6-speed TCT gearshifts are optimized, with the difference that Dynamic mode allows slight drifts with ESC intervention as late as possible, while Race mode is reserved for the track with the all driving aids deactivated. Alfa had the good idea of ​​remembering the last mode selected between each restart, so that this famous Saturday morning when I was supposed to join a friend on the way to the Champagne region at the first rest area on the motorway A4, the 4C shakes the walls of my car park at 8am. A broad smile settles on my face not to leave it for the next 48 hours. The tens of kilometers which separate me from Reims are only a formality. The streets of the city light up and buzz with the low sound of the Akrapovic line which giggles with impatience at the idea of ​​expressing itself fully on the surrounding small roads dotted with vines on either side of the roadway. The first morning and still tired looks of some passers-by are drawn like flies to what for many looks like a mini-Ferrari. The streets of the city light up and buzz with the low sound of the Akrapovic line which giggles with impatience at the idea of ​​expressing itself fully on the surrounding small roads dotted with vines on either side of the roadway. The first morning and still tired looks of some passers-by are drawn like flies to what for many looks like a mini-Ferrari. The streets of the city light up and buzz with the low sound of the Akrapovic line which giggles with impatience at the idea of ​​expressing itself fully on the surrounding small roads dotted with vines on either side of the roadway. The first morning and still tired looks of some passers-by are drawn like flies to what for many looks like a mini-Ferrari.

Our journey takes us straight and like any good character car test in this region, towards the mythical and ghostly circuit of Reims-Gueux. If the defunct route was and still is not the most interesting, the atmosphere that emanates from this ribbon of asphalt where the grandstands and stands in period colors remain striking. Bringing the flag bearer of a brand, also steeped in history (more than a century!), has a very special flavor. I don't bring any grizzled SUV coming to have its portrait taken in the aerial parking lot of the local supermarket, and once again, the stares of passers-by translate the attachment that the general public still has to the automobile. Know how to remember it, O great leaders of builders.

The excellent condition of the wide surrounding roads invites all the same to follow this famous route whose quasi-straight portions are today mainly connected by roundabouts, of which our country is fond. The 4C takes off with a hoarse and angry howl. The breath of the turbo invades the cabin and its brutality my loins. The car jumps with each stroke of the paddle and seems to jerk like a stallion pulling the grass from the racetrack in one last stride before the finish line. It's physical and better to have both hands on the steering wheel at 10:15. The 0 to 100 km / h is swallowed in 4.5 seconds, 0.1 second less than a Ferrari F40! An anecdote that will have something to talk about during lunches with your favorite trackday club. Braking also deserves a few lines. The crankset doesn't have any racing car aesthetic inspiration. Its handling and the attack of the middle pedal are strangely close to it, to the point that everyday driving deserves a few minutes of practice beforehand. It brakes hard and the size and the design of the car once again require your full attention. The large ventilated and perforated steel discs of 305 mm at the front of and 292 mm at the rear once in action put an end to any feeling of thrust in a fraction of a second. Your hands have I hope not moved a millimeter to hold the rear of the Italian which, through its architecture and its front/rear weight distribution, is just waiting to pass in front, even in the dry. .

Our journey takes us to the high places of Champagne with a capital C. Hautvillers and Epernay resound to the sound of 4 singing cylinders (even if these two words together may seem unthinkable to the eyes of the most purists among purists), because as you You will have understood, there is another character car with a 4-cylinder engine that accompanies me throughout this day, there is also a clue in one of the photos posted above.

After a lunch break during which a regiment of wasps saw fit to invite themselves, I take the wheel more delighted than ever. The sun is shining as the thermometer delicately approaches 30°C. The roads are surprisingly empty of any trace of tourists in search of the precious beverage. We definitely leave the usual axes to take the secondary roads through some undergrowth and endless expanses of vines. The turns are much more numerous and tight. The 4C giggles with pleasure and its driver of the day even more. Luckily, it's my apple. The turbo blows at all stages, from 2500 rpm to never stop until the red zone which starts at 6500 rpm where the switch prevents you from being over-optimistic with the mechanics. Thus, on the Champagne roads, there is no need to fall into 2nd. Technically, the 3rd does the job from start to finish, breaking at 143 km/h. The 4C remains fairly easy to learn in the dry, but still requires your full attention on more dynamic routes. The rear axle remains screwed to the road both in wide curves and in tight turns. The front which crashes under braking with the rear slightly unstable allows by keeping the brake until entering the curve to radically transform the onset of understeer into a movement that perfectly matches the shape of any bend. The non-assisted steering is heavy but consistent although not very precise and difficult to gauge on the first degrees of inclination. However, it is a real treat. Not a degree of roll, the 4-cylinder sings loudly, the exhaust crackles from time to time while the turbo with each lift of the foot releases a coo worthy of a Toyota Supra prepared Stage 327. But driving is tiring. The Sabelt seat remains rather approximate in its support to the shoulders and such brutality in braking and in acceleration would deserve a real three-point harness in order to avoid clinging to the steering wheel which will transcribe the slightest imperfection of the surface on which you are moving. No question here of driving with one hand, the smartphone in the other. Either way, it's forbidden. The Sabelt seat remains rather approximate in its support to the shoulders and such brutality in braking and in acceleration would deserve a real three-point harness in order to avoid clinging to the steering wheel which will transcribe the slightest imperfection of the surface on which you are moving. No question here of driving with one hand, the smartphone in the other. Either way, it's forbidden. The Sabelt seat remains rather approximate in its support to the shoulders and such brutality in braking and in acceleration would deserve a real three-point harness in order to avoid clinging to the steering wheel which will transcribe the slightest imperfection of the surface on which you are moving. No question here of driving with one hand, the smartphone in the other. Either way, it's forbidden.

I finally breathe, the next day, sitting on the terrace, sipping a fruit juice and observing from afar the gazes once again fascinated by the Italian racing car. Exuberant in the lines, the 4C is also exuberant in its general philosophy and its behavior. Light years away from a GT, difficult to tame and demanding your full attention behind the wheel (believing otherwise reminded me vividly of who I was dealing with), the 4C will definitely not be your daily companion. Especially since on a 1h30 journey, you will spend a third of your time climbing the speed bumps, which for 90% of them I assure you, are not up to standard in our dear region. Ile-de-France… But then why buy it? First of all, you will have to appreciate cars with a real personality, accept its faults to see only qualities and finally not to compare it to any other, because it does not claim to beat the competition, which is rare and sometimes unsuitable. No, the 4C is above that. It simply offers its own universe, a universe that is decidedly very close to a racing car, and just for that, I fell in love with it. Alpha virus? Not sure. 4C viruses? Absoutely.

So, I would like to see what a French brand recently emerged from sleep could offer the equivalent. I also hope that the latter reads me. Good reader...