Alfa Romeo 4C on the way

The Alfa Romeo 4C in concept for has been doing the motor show rounds since the start of the year and will  go into series production some time this year with expected on sale dates next year. The 4C is designed to deliver on Alfa's core values - exhilarating performance and handling delivered by rear wheel drive. Designers also paid close attention to safety and driving pleasure.

It's a lightweight vehicle powered by  Alfa's impressive 1750 TBi engine with around 180kW that pushes the stylish two door from 0-100 kmh in under five seconds and on to a 250 kmh top speed at the local air strip. Fuel economy and emissions are comparable to some economy cars.

The 4C concept presents the classic formula of the two-seater, rear-wheel drive coupe with its engine at the centre, a length of approximately four metres and a wheelbase of less than 2.4 metres. These dimensions serve to emphasise the compact size of the car and to accentuate its agility. The graceful and clean external lines stand out in a crowded street and the interior is similarly ground breaking in styling terms.

The 4C concept draws on technology and materials from the 8C Competizione - carbon, aluminium, rear-wheel drive and components lifted from other Alfa models currently on sale like the 1750 turbo petrol engine with direct injection, the "Alfa TCT" twin dry clutch transmission and the Alfa DNA dynamic control selector.

Its weight is reduced through the liberal use of carbon fibre in body structure and panel components  to give an advantageous power to weight ratio. Aluminium is similarly used throughout the vehicle. The final result is a sports car tipping the scales at "less than" 850kg with optimised centre of gravity.

The Alfa Romeo 4C Concept has an extremely sophisticated suspension layout (high quadrilateral at the front, MacPherson at the rear) to ensure maximum agility and road handling. The 4C is tipped to hit the streets globally in 2012, some time later in Australia.