Alfa Romeo 4 C

[Alfamania]

I would love to have one of these! It would be so much fun!!! It looks fantastic! I really hope the V6 comes back!!!

[MD]

Brad, I have to agree 100% regarding the Lotus influence. It's blatantly obvious.

[branko.gt]

Brad, I have to agree 100% regarding the Lotus influence. It's blatantly obvious.

can you explain please
it must be me but i am not sure what is it that you refer to when you say "blatantly obvious". 

[MD]

I smell a protracted debate about this so Branko I'll just say this. You are perfectly entitled to disagree with my point of view and opinion and I have no problem with that whatsoever.

If on the other hand if it is not a debate you are interested in but simply a clarification from me then my answer is this. Don't look at the car in the detail but rather look at it wholistically. The concept, the engine location, the target market (price), materials of construciton and possibly power to weight. There are visual cues as well. Finally, I have no problems with Alfa marketing taking a leaf out of the Lotus book because at least Lotus is making a brave stand for motor sport enthusiast. That's where Alfa needs to be but on its own terms.

[Brad M]

Great response and mirrors my thinking as well ... so it must be perfect

[branko.gt]

I smell a protracted debate about this so Branko I'll just say this. You are perfectly entitled to disagree with my point of view and opinion and I have no problem with that whatsoever.

If on the other hand if it is not a debate you are interested in but simply a clarification from me then my answer is this. Don't look at the car in the detail but rather look at it wholistically. The concept, the engine location, the target market (price), materials of construciton and possibly power to weight. There are visual cues as well. Finally, I have no problems with Alfa marketing taking a leaf out of the Lotus book because at least Lotus is making a brave stand for motor sport enthusiast. That's where Alfa needs to be but on its own terms.

it appeared as if you were stating a fact (blatantly obvious) rather than an opinion so I am not about to give up that easily.
dont take me wrong, Elise is a great car but there is nothing that 4c owes to it.

The concept !
-     what concept,  four wheels and an engine, i don't think lotus invented it or brought it to market first

the engine location
-     engine behind the driver is not a lotus invention and neither is lotus the only car on the market with the engine behind the driver, you could accuse Elise of being a copy of Toyota MR2 that was in production for 12 years when Lotus Elise came out, which would also be ridiculous simplification. How about Fiat and Lancia with small cars and engine behind the driver ... Didn't Alfa ever build a car with the engine behind the driver ? Maybe one or two ...

the target market (price)
-     it is not in the same price range, people in this forum who specialise in automotive market segmentation are suggesting that it should be targeting the same audience, but by the early price indications is that it is not

materials of construction
-     lotus Elise made a big thing of using bespoke aluminium extrusions, 4c uses carbon fibre tub chassis, they could not be further apart in that respect.

power to weight
-      it never occurred to alfa before to lower a car weight to achieve better power to weight ratio, did it ... Chapman did take this approach to extremes but that still does not mean the 4c owes anything to Elise in that respect

visual cues
-    Elise was never a particularly attractive car nor an originally looking one,  you'd have to squint a great deal to make them look similar, but at that point anything you look at would look similar.

[branko.gt]

Great response and mirrors my thinking as well ... so it must be perfect

great minds think alike, don't they

but you should also consider that fools rarely differ 

[MD]

Mate that's all fine and dandy but as the saying goes, some people just can't see the wood for the trees.

[branko.gt]

Mate that's all fine and dandy but as the saying goes, some people just can't see the wood for the trees.

ahh ! why didn't you say so earlier, "it's the vibe, it's the Mabo !"

it is difficult not to be dismissive of an assertion that you cannot support with anything more than that :-)

[pancho]

[branko.gt]

cheers !

[ANG156]

The styling of the 4c is similiar to the elise but I dont see how it could have bwen much differrent givem the proportions they were going for. Also the styling elements are very much forward thinking which means both cars shall be around for a while before a facelift comes along. Those headlights are not convincing to me so hopefully the base version has something more appealing.

[Brad M]

:

Clearly not a lot of work getting done at Documation ... thanks for showing us the 4C follows the Elise which also follows the 33.

I wish Alfa kept a few more cylinders under the hood...

[Evan Bottcher]

Personally I'm enjoying this thread immensely.  Hoping it stays friendly.

[branko.gt]

:

Clearly not a lot of work getting done at Documation ... thanks for showing us the 4C follows the Elise which also follows the 33.

I wish Alfa kept a few more cylinders under the hood...

it is good to see that despite your advanced age you have kept childish imagination ...

i just hope you are not going to start seeing extraterrestrials and ghosts ...