Fiat Chrysler set quite a few hearts aflutter with the announcement that the Alfa Romeo is returning to American soil. The company is all set to debut the 2015 Alfa Romeo 4C at the New York Auto Show in a bid to woo American drivers. And Alfa Romeo lovers better be quick on the trigger because the company is offering a very limited number of the special Launch Edition. What is the magic number? It is being speculated that Fiat will be releasing between 500 and 850 of the beautifully styled 4C coupes with serial numbers and a special plaque.
For buyers looking to grab the sleek car, their destination should be a select group of yet-to-be announced Fiat Design Studios all across North America. The sporty coupe will be available in June, a Fiat spokesperson said. This is the first car that Alfa Romeo will be selling in America in almost two decades.
The new Alpha Romeo 4C emulates all the qualities that are considered authentic to the century-old car brand. This includes sleek Italian style, edgy performance and engineering excellence, all wrapped in modern safety features.
The cars come in two select colors, a vibrant Alfa Red (Rosso Competizione) and a classic White (Madreperla). Beyond the colors, the Launch Edition will have high-end features like penetrating Bi-xenon headlamps with LED daytime lights, racing exhaust, staggered forged wheels painted in Dark Gray, carbon fiber rear spoiler and mirrored caps, race suspension tuning, and performance-tuned shock absorbers.
The interiors are kitted out to envelop the driver in luxurious comfort with sumptuous leather-wrapped instrument and door panels, plush sport seats with black microfiber, and matching interior accent stitching on the instrument panel. The parent company of the Alfa Romeo 4C is hoping that all these exclusive features will woo America into buying.
For those who revel in automobile history, the name 4C brings to life the Alfa Romeo’s great sporting past. The names 8C and 6C denoted those cars in the 1930s and 1940s that were fitted with the powerful eight and six cylinder engines. The new 4C will continue this powerful legacy with an all-aluminum 1750 cc turbocharged four-cylinder engine that delivers 237 horsepower with 258 lb.-ft. of torque. In layman terms, the car takes 4.5 seconds to accelerate from 0-60 mph.
Such acceleration is all thanks to the use of advanced materials and technological innovations that are found in the Formula 1 circuit. For instance, the light aluminum chassis structure and composite body shell allows the manufacturer to create an ultra lightweight coupe that is high on performance. After all, the 4C’s parent company also owns the Maserati brand.
But Fiat has bigger plans for America, where in spite of its absence, the Alfa Romeo has high name recognition. The 4C is merely the first of its offerings and more are expected to follow this year. According to Harald Wester, head of Alfa Romeo and Maserati, the array will be released soon. Fiat dealers, who were part of strategy meetings said that the sporty coupe will be followed by an upscale sedan, called the Giulia.
The Alfa Romeos will continue to be manufactured in Italy. As Wester said the car needs to remain Italian in its bones and its technical content so as to facilitate a successful relaunch of the brand in America.
The new car is likely to be priced between $54,000 and $70,000, and will compete with performance vehicles like the Porsche Cayman and the Boxster.
Anyone salivating at the thought of owning the zippy powerful Alfa Romeo 4C, should head to the nearest American Fiat Design Studio, because the wooing has worked and more than 5000 people are all set to buy the car. Now it is time for Alfa Romeo lovers to race for the speedy racer.
By Monalisa Gangopadhyay.
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