Alfa Romeo 4C (2012) more official pictures

Yes, yes - it's only a new paint job on the Alfa Romeo 4C concept car. But the 4C remains one of our favourite show cars in recent years, so we're only too happy to show off its new Fluid Metal colour scheme.

The 4C will be shown again at the 2011 Frankfurt motor show on 13 September. Alfa calls the Fluid Metal paint 'like a sheet of forged metal' and it certainly suits the new compact Cayman rival from Turin.

None of the tech spec of the 4C has changed. It's still very compact, at just 4 metres long and a stubby 2.4m wheelbase (it's only a two-seater), making it closer to a Lotus Elise than an Evora.

Alfa promises the production 4C - which we'll see on sale in late 2012 - will stick with the clever construction seen on this concept car and derived from big brother the 8C. That means carbonfibre and aluminium to keep weight as low as 850kg, the carbon tub coming from composite specialists Dallara.

The 1750 petrol turbo will provide the fireworks, paired to Alfa's TCT twin-clutch gearbox. Alfa Romeo promises 'over 200bhp' and says the mid-mounted four-cylinder engine accounts for a 40:60 front:rear weight distribution.

You bet. It's light and powerful enough for a top end over 155mph and 0-62mph in less than 5.0sec, predicts Alfa. Sources at the company have told CAR to expect nearer 165mph/4.5sec.

That lavish material mix will swell the showroom price to around £40,000, but we still predict long queues once production starts in late 2012.

Turin forecasts 1500 sales of the 4C each year, around a fifth destined for the United States - marking the return to the US for a sorely missed brand.

By Tim Pollard