Alfa Romeo 4C at Frankfurt – only the colour changes

Alfa Romeo 4C in Fluid Metal at Frankfurt

When Alfa Romeo teased the Alfa 4C for Frankfurt a few weeks back with a dark photo (what’s new?) we did ask what they were playing at.

Don’t misunderstand; we think the Alfa Romeo 4C is exactly the sort of car Alfa should be making. No, what puzzled us was, why the tease? Why tease something we’d already seen at Geneva?

We concluded that this was just Alfa playing the tease game to garner more coverage for the 4C, and all we’d actually see at Frankfurt was the 4C with a new paint job. And that’s exactly what we’re getting – the Alfa Romeo 4C ‘Fluid Metal’.

But we forgive Alfa their little deceit because the 4C looks so appealing. A 1750cc four-pot behind your head churning out something around 250bhp in a car that weighs just 850kg is a recipe for some real fun.

Remember, this isn’t a bloaty baby supercar, it’s a properly compact, mid-engined RWD sports car – and it’s only about the same size as the MiTo.

The 4C will also get a TCT (twin clutch) ‘box and a version of the extremely good DNA setup you’ll find in the Giulietta and MiTo, with its Dynamic, Normal and ‘The Weather’s Rotten’ settings.

Which is a brilliant system, and does a magnificent job of changing the Alfa’s character with just the flip of a button; we just wish it remembered the previous setting after it was switched off, because you’ll want it in Dynamic for ninety per cent of the time.

The Fluid Metal Alfa 4C will be on the Alfa Romeo stand at Frankfurt, together with a Giulietta with the TCT ‘box and a MiTo with the turbo version of the 2-pot 875cc TwinAir.

The Alfa range really is getting properly appealing.

(4 photos – click any thumbnail for full size)

By Cars UK