Alfa Romeo’s stunning 4C, the “affordable supercar”, is set to go on sale in Australia in the second quarter of next year at the surprisingly temping price of just $75,000.
The company’s Australian representative had briefed journalists the night before the car’s unveiling, at the company’s test track in Balocco, northern Italy, to expect a price of between $80,000 and $100,000 for the base car, and $100k to $120k for the exclusive Launch Edition.
But during the presentation for the car, held in a stunning, purpose-built stadium that straddle the test track, Alfa head office announced the 4C would start at just $75,000.
The Australian PR representative, Karla Leach, was seen falling heavily from her seat.
The wickedly beautiful Alfa, which will go head to head with car’s like Porsche’s Cayman, despite undercutting it by more than $50,000, is only the beginning for the 4C marque.
Gugliemo Caviasso, product manager for Alfa, confirmed that the 177kW and 350Nm of torque the company had extracted from the car’s 1.75-litre turbo four cyclinder was “only the beginning” and “certainly it was possible” that more powerful versions of the 4C, perhaps bearing the QV four-leaf-clover badge, might break cover in the future
A convertible Alfa 4C, with a removable Targa-style roof, also looks to be virtually certain.
“If you have this type of architecture it is easy to realise an open car, all the torsional stiffness you need is already embedded
in the concept, and the carbon monocoque is stiff enough,” a company spokesman said.
“We have not yet formally decided something like this is going to happen.”
We’d like to bet they already have decided.
Alfa is already holding 80 orders for the 4C, and is unsure how many cars it will get in Australia, anywhere from 100 to 200 units looks possible, and they will all sell out. The Launch Edition is now tipped to start at $100,000, and as few as 20-40 of them will make it to Australia.
