Drove an Alfa 4C!

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vandor
Posts: 3996
Joined: Sat May 23, 2009 1:23 pm
Your car is a: 1971 124 Spider
Location: Texas, USA

Drove an Alfa 4C!

Post by vandor »

I went down to Houston for the Fiat Club holiday lunch and before the lunch I stopped by Jeff's (spcoupe) house, so I could drive one of his cars to the lunch. We had a little time, so we took the Alfa 4C for a spin and he let me drive!
The car only has 200 miles, so I tried to keep the rpm under 4000, but even that way the acceleration is amazing. Once it's broken in and one can use the full rpm range I'm sure it will be like being shot out of a cannon!
I think testers have gotten 0-60 mph in ~4 seconds!

It only comes with an automated dual-clutch gearbox that has several modes, Jeff can explain it better, but I drove it in manual mode, where I had to shift it with the paddles. Hearing it shift is pretty near, sounds like a race car every time! :-)

This really is a race car for the street, it has pretty much no sound insulation, and one can see a lot of the carbon fiber tub once the door is open. I believe there is no power steering, the steering is very direct and has great feedback. I'd love to try it on the track!

Of course it looks gorgeous, and all the mechanical parts like brakes and suspension are beautiful! The instrument cluster is fully digital, but it displays an analog tachometer and the speed in a digit readout. Other gauges will appear depending on what drive mode is selected. In race mode it shows a G-meter!

The car is just amazing... thanks for the drive, Jeff!

Image

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Csaba
'71 124 Spider, much modified
'17 124 Abarth, silver
http://italiancarclub.com/csaba/
Co-owner of the best dang Fiat parts place in town
So Cal Mark

Re: Drove an Alfa 4C!

Post by So Cal Mark »

lucky dog! :)
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spidernut
Posts: 1906
Joined: Wed Jan 25, 2006 12:20 am
Your car is a: 1979 Fiat Spider Automatic
Location: Lincoln, CA

Re: Drove an Alfa 4C!

Post by spidernut »

Lucky dude! That had to be a total blast to drive! :D
John G.
1979 Spider (Owned since 2000)
1971 124 Sport Spider (Owned since 2017)
1977 Spider (Sold 2017)
1979 Spider (Disposed of in 2017)
1979 Spider (Sold 2015)
1980 Spider (Sold in 2013)
1981 Spider (Sold in 1985)
2017 Spider (Owned since 2019)
njoconnor
Posts: 614
Joined: Thu Jul 05, 2012 7:06 pm
Your car is a: 1972 124 Spider

Re: Drove an Alfa 4C!

Post by njoconnor »

:mrgreen: ...as in envy....Nice car, Jeff, and nice ride, Csaba!

Neil
Neil O'Connor
Madison, WI
72 FIAT 124 Spider
12 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland Summit
14 Ram 1500 Laramie Longhorn Eco-Diesel
ex-71 FIAT 124 Coupe
and a host of Audi's, Saabs, VW's, MOPAR's, Fords, and a Bimmer....
sptcoupe
Posts: 987
Joined: Tue Mar 17, 2009 9:25 pm
Your car is a: 1972 124 Sport Coupe

Re: Drove an Alfa 4C!

Post by sptcoupe »

We had a really great day with the club. Good Italian food, a great impromptu Italian car show in the parking lot (20 cars?), super weather and good friends! Thanks to Csaba, we were able to get the coupe there as well as the 4C.

The 4C is truly spectacular - better than I imagined it would be and our first ever "super car", and Alfa! We now have about 300 miles on, so I have fudged a bit on the break-in and experimented with it in the "Dynamic Mode" (like the Sport button on the 500s, but on steroids), and did one start in full Race Mode, using the launch control. I'm not sure how to describe that experience, except to say that you do feel like you have been shot from a cannon and 90mph is there in about 6 seconds from what I could tell.

In the Dynamic Mode, the display color changes to orange and you get a boost gauge and an oil temp gauge added to the normal display. In the Race Mode, the color goes to red, and you also get a G meter that tells you lateral and front/rear g forces! Easy to read and fun to use!

More later, but I can't wait to get it on the track when we do our club four day weekend trip to the Hill Country this spring!

The car also has an "All Weather Mode" that reduces torque and let's you start in second gear and probably some other stuff I haven't read about yet. "Natural Mode" is the default mode, and lets you drive it auto form, or with the paddles. Just a dream to drive to the store or down the highway.
sptcoupe
Posts: 987
Joined: Tue Mar 17, 2009 9:25 pm
Your car is a: 1972 124 Sport Coupe

Re: Drove an Alfa 4C!

Post by sptcoupe »

Forgot to mention that the smile on Csaba's face is what you see on everybody's face when they drive this thing! My wife and I had to arm wrestle to see who would drive it this morning!
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Zippy
Posts: 585
Joined: Mon May 25, 2009 10:06 pm
Your car is a: 1978 Fiat
Location: Real Close to Milton, WA

Re: Drove an Alfa 4C!

Post by Zippy »

If he needs a 78 Fiat Spider, an 88 Chevy C3500 pickup and a 98 Saturn SL, tell him I'll trade straight across. LOL :mrgreen: Envy, too!
1978 Spider
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