Alfa Romeo Model 4C Spider, the lightweight sweetheart who can workup top speeds

The new Alfa Romeo Model 4C Spider is convertible, but not a convertible like the Aston Vanquish Volante is a roll top. The featherweight Spider in place has a soft roll-up top that can be stored in the very compact trunk after use, which spares just enough room to stuff your lunch pack and a knapsack. If you do not want the soft top then you can for $3500 buy a carbon fiber hardtop which can be lifted off.

However the hard option is not storable and Alfa Romeo does not pretend when it comes to practicality. But Alfa Romeo produces noise, and in the coupe it can be unfortunate with the whoosh and boom experienced inside, whereas the convertible with its nature dissipate whatever irrelevant sound comes in its way into the air, thus leaving only the growl of the 1.7 Liter turbo engine with 237 horsepower. The cockpit of the Spider is an example for forced intimacy and any carelessness in your part would have your head mashed up with the windshield made of carbon-fiber.

In the base trim, the Spider is more imaginative than the hardtop and a leather encompassed interior is a regular feature. Mercifully the earlier Parrot audio system has now been replaced with the Alpine head set which is easy to operate at least.  You really need to manage the Spider on bumpy pavement but when it is on the smooth road, it is a sweet heart with its 2487 pound weight. The car with its lightweight can be scarier when hurling it on the hairy crests of Laguna Seca where we drove it, but you can always bring it under control with its quick steering, short wheelbase and middle placed engine working as balancing act.

Alfa Romeo agrees that with the price fixed at $65, 495, consumers are likely to cross-shop, but says that the car has no direct rival in the market. The closes that come to the Spider is the BMW i3 with its $100,000 and its carbon fiber body. It also offers a rear seat, battery pack, and a two-cylinder engine option.  The Boxster from Porsche offers a naturally aspirated engine, power fold-top, power steering and less on the exotic stuff. The now demised Louts Elise is the closest you would call the match for 4C. The Alfa is a sporty little toy on the track, but can be difficult to manage on the cobblestones of Meatpacking District. You will go the spider way if it is going to add 22 more pounds and offer ample headroom. 

The Alfa Romeo Model 4C Spider has been offered mid-engine layout, and it has a rear-wheel drivetrain. Bodystyle offered is 2-door Targa and can seat two passengers. The engine has direct fuel injection, and it is a turbocharged  inline-4 DOHC with 16-valves. The 1742cc displacement of the engine produces 237 horsepower at 6000 rpm and 258 pounds of torque at 2200 rpm. The engine is supported by a 6-speed dual clutch automatic transmission with manual shifting mode and the Spider can achieve the 0-60mph in 4.3 seconds and the quarter mile in 13.14 seconds speeding at 107mph. The top speed attained by the 4C is 160mph and according to EPA rating it offers a fuel economy figures of 24/34 for city and highway.