Refreshed Front Mask

The spider version of the lightweight sports car "4C," announced by Alfa Romeo in the spring of 2013, has now made its appearance. The venue for its world premiere was the Geneva Motor Show held earlier this month. The "4C Spider" announced this time is scheduled for release in 2015 and can be considered a design study that is extremely close to a production model.

The roof, which is the most notable point of change for the spider conversion, is a soft top rather than a hard top. The reason for this is, of course, weight reduction, and carbon fiber is used in various places, including the rollover structure and spoilers. The vehicle weight has been kept to an increase of only +60kg compared to the coupe's 895kg. The front-rear weight distribution remains unchanged from the coupe model at 40:60.

At first glance, the exterior appears to have no changes other than this roof, but in reality, various modifications have been made. Firstly, the front section features new "clamshell headlamps" with a novel design, and the tailpipes have been changed from the previous dual side exits to dual center exits.



This is called the "Dual Stage Central Exhaust System," developed by Akrapovič, a company that handles competition exhaust systems for top-tier motorcycle racing like Moto GP. It is made of titanium and carbon, and allows the driver to enjoy changes in sound and performance through their own operation.

The powertrain is the same as the coupe model, with a 1.75-liter inline-4 turbo engine producing a maximum output of 240ps, mounted transversely in the mid-section. This is combined with a 6-speed Alfa TCT dual-clutch transmission. Naturally, it is equipped with the DNA selector, as is standard with Alfa Romeo. Performance is also unchanged from the coupe model, with 0-100 km/h acceleration in 4.5 seconds and a top speed of 250 km/h.