Marking the Italian brand’s highly anticipated return to North America, the all-new 2015 Alfa Romeo 4C makes its debut at the New York Auto Show.
“The all-new Alfa Romeo 4C delivers supercar-level performance in its most elemental form,” said Harald Wester, President and CEO of Alfa Romeo. “With its ultra-lightweight materials and technological solutions derived directly from motorsports, a mid-engine proportion for maximum agility and purposeful styling cues to enhance performance – the all-new 4C coupe marks Alfa Romeo’s return to sports cars and the brand’s return to North America.”
The inspiration for the 4C dates back to the 1967 33 Stradale, the homologated version of the racing Type 33, which is considered to be one of the most beautiful cars of all time.
To create the ultra-lightweight architecture the 4C engineers looked to Formula 1. The result is a monocoque made entirely of carbon fiber that delivers extraordinary stiffness and strength. Attached to the Alfa Romeo 4C’s exotic monocoque are front and rear cell structures, roof reinforcements and an engine-mounting frame made from lightweight aluminum. The bodywork is made entirely of SMC (Sheet Molding Compound), a low-density, high-strength composite material that is 20 percent lighter and dimensionally more rigid than steel. Engineers even optimized the windshield and side windows by using 10 percent thinner glass to reduce weight by almost 15 percent.
The engine is the beating heart of any Alfa Romeo, and for the 4C, it beats to an all-new 1750 cc direct-injection 237 horsepower aluminum engine. A new generation turbocharger features a pulse-converter exhaust manifold to exploit pressure waves and boost torque at low-engine speeds. As a result, torque delivery is instantaneous, with a peak of 258 ft.-lb. (350 N•m); 80 percent of which is available at only 1,700 rpm.
Thanks to its advanced technological solutions and compact size, the coupe demonstrates its precision, agility and performance credentials with a top speed of 160 miles per hour (mph) and a 0-to-60 mph acceleration in the mid-4 second range.
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