Alfa Romeo 4 C

[aggie57]

A number of critics didn't like the the front of the 4C. Well guess what, Alfa have done it all before 'cause  I know you will just love this one..

Damn - I always thought that was a Pontiac!

[MD]

Damn - I always thought that was a Pontiac!

That's 'cause you have never seen the rear !! 

[MD]

BTW Aggs, here's your Pontiac.

See the difference? 

[aggie57]

Damn - I always thought that was a Pontiac!

That's 'cause you have never seen the rear !! 

Them there's fins ain't they?  Just like this:

http://storm.oldcarmanualproject.com/pontiacfirebird1959.htm

But there we go again, changing the topic.  Back to which.....that 4C does sound nice!:

[MD]

So back on track with our friends at 4C.

Looking at the video I see that designers keep making that same dickhead mistakes. I am talking about the  indicators being located in the cente of the stop light lens. The early Ford Falcons did the same. Not good in theory let alone in practice.

The contrast ratio between the parking light and the stop light (in wattage at least) is about 1>4 .The intention is simply that the following vehicle can readily tel the difference between a tailight and a stop light. Now the intesity between an indicator light and a stop light is zip. So when the vehicle is stopped and indicating a turn, there is barely a percieved difference between the two because the "background light" from the stop filament floods the surrounding area with red light and the yellow indicator struggles to make a big visual difference which it should !

Therefore it is not readily apparent that the vehicle intends to turn-bad blue. Couple that with a very high ambient light in a sunny day and you are potentially looking at a safety hazzard.

A clear spacing needs to be made for the respective functions of stop warning and indicating a turn. Sorry 4c design team. 2/10 for your rear light assy.

Just to squeeze in an allied contemporary lunacy. The think tank in the ADRs has stopped thinking. It wasn't all that long ago (and it still might be current) that if you had a faded lens, it cost you demerit points and a fine. Today new cars come out with "clear" indicator lenses and a coloured bulb to provide the classical yellow/orange signal. Well that's great in ye old Europe where the ambient light is so low that you can see a torch light for 15 kilometres but in good old Oz where you need sunglasses to visit the kahzi, these lights are crap. Particularly if you are following a car with the sun behind you.

...and then along comes the Mr Fixit numbnut who has a blown orange bulb. He is going to fix this little job himself. He installs a clear bulb in a clear lens meant to be an indicator. Now this is depsite the fact the orange bulbs have a different fitment so it is not normally possible to do this, but MR Fixit gets the job done so you now have a white blinker. Fabulous !

..ok I had my rant, I''ll sink a few ales and get over it..

[Beatle]

That's not only a problem with the 4C and old Falcons MD.  I noticed the same effect on the back of a late model VW only last week.

Also, and it may be just my aging eyes, but I find LED indicators, and moreso brake lights, not as 'obvious' as incandescent bulbs for some reason.  I'm sure they have similar brightness, so I can only put it down to the different type of light.

And, has any Alfa ever had decent rear lights?   My 90 has massive tail light lenses, but the bits that actually illuminate are miniscule.   The 164 tail/blinkers were also tiny.

[Neil Choi]

Oh no???  Does look pretty funny.  But change those headlights.

"Every now and then a car company gets it wrong on the styling front. Ford did it twice in quick succession with the Taurus and the home-grown AU Falcon in the '90s and Bentley unveiled a concept SUV with a face only a mother could love at last year's Geneva motor show. This year, the head scratcher at Geneva came from a most unlikely source. While the new Alfa 4C looks pretty sexy from most angles, from the front end it looks like something penned by Pixar rather than Pininfarina. We know the Italian company has jumped in bed with the Yanks at Chrysler, but did they have to make the 4C's face look like something Lightning McQueen might pick up in a Texas bar?"


http://news.drive.com.au/drive/motor-news/why-the-face-20130308-2fp3w.html

[Evan Bottcher]

I can't see the resemblance...

[Sheldon McIntosh]

something Lightning McQueen might pick up in a Texas bar?"

I can.

[Craig_m67]

I can't see the resemblance...

Is that you ?  Too cool, mr Finn (6) would love to see lighting McQueen, where was it?



Oh yeah, the 4C.  I was disappointed by the headlights, but the carbon wrap version has grown on me.  I'm actually less impressed with the fit of the dash and door trims but then I've never been totally impressed with the fit of any Alfa I've had. I've a golf for that.

I'd have one in a heartbeat if I'd planned my life less emotionally and more fiscally.  For me it is the perfect interpretation of what an Alfa is. Cutting edge (period) tech, sometimes production car firsts in a beautiful body for no other reason than they freakin can... ie. twin cams, twin spark, sodium valves, alloy engines, 4 wheel disc brakes, variable cams, common rail diesels, JTD/S injection... Alfa(Fiat) has been cutting edge for ages, now they're having a crack at carbon fibre and composite bodies. You can't take something into production without building it in dev and preproduction first. I'm excited by this move, they're looking to the future and making sure they have the R&D, experience and production IP to meet it head on.

I suspect I will buy one and I can wait for all the car reviews to say how flawed it is

[ItalCarGuy]

I can't see the resemblance...

I suppose you are gonna tell me there was a full size 'Mack' as well?  

As much as I am a visual guy I can't wait to hear more about the 4C's handling. I reaaaally hope they nailed it. Rip it around a track with lots of twisty bits and woo the crowds that way. The nutty headlights will fade into the background a bit then. I know if I bought one (completely improbable) I would pop those spider eyes out and design my own lights!

[Sheldon McIntosh]

Someone has had a go at a photoshop redesign.....   







Bigger images here.....  http://uberangst.com/alfa-romeo-4c/

[Evan Bottcher]

...Too cool, mr Finn (6) would love to see lighting McQueen, where was it?

Melbourne GP.  They had a whole Disney Pixar fun park for the kids - Cars jumping castle, pedal cars, various other things.  I was kid-free unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your perspective)...

As much as I am a visual guy I can't wait to hear more about the 4C's handling.

+1

I know if I bought one (completely improbable) I would pop those spider eyes out and design my own lights!

Hmm.  We've got a plastic printer at work... if only I had a 3d model to run it.

[alfagtv58]

Some sneaky literature from the Pistonheads site.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=23&t=1260237&mid=81223&nmt=Alfa+4C+sales+literature+inc+price+lists+%26+options

[Victor Lee]

From that pistonheads website, the combined fuel cycle is 41.5mpg (UK) = 6.8068L/100km which is less than the 7.00L/100km to qualify for the higher Luxury Car Tax threshold of $75,375.

Over there the Launch Edition is £52,000.  Interesting to see what the "normal" version will be.