Maserati MC20 vs Alfa Romeo 4C

What's the difference?

With a 320km/h-plus top speed and the ability to get from rest to 100km/h in under three seconds, there’s no doubting the MC20 meets or exceeds its performance brief. But when you’re paying these prices, there must be more than just the measurable stuff going on.

And there is. The MC20 brings a big dollop of purity to the ranks of current supercars, doing away with all-wheel drive and hybrid tech and relying instead on and old-school approach in terms of handling and overall feel.

Anybody who wants to argue that call has plenty of alternatives to the MC20 from other manufacturers, and for some of us, that less-is-more thing will ring true.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with meals provided.

People might wonder if there’s a reason to buy an Alfa Romeo 4C. It has some great dollar-for-dollar competitors - the Alpine A110 does most of the things the Alfa does, but in a more polished way. And then there’s the Porsche 718 Cayman, which is a considerably more, well, considered option.

But there is no doubt the 4C stands alone, a sort-of cut-price alternative to a Maserati or Ferrari, and nearly as rare to spot on the road as those cars, too. And just like the rollercoaster at Luna Park, it’s the sort of car that’ll leave you wanting another go.

Perhaps the most striking thing about the MC20’s design is that it’s so restrained. You won’t find wings, vents, fins and diffusers all over the car, but rather an overall shape that creates downforce, rather than that job falling to tacked on additions.

And, like any modern supercar worth its salt, the MC20 is based around a carbon-fibre tub for rigidity and low weight. From that tub structure are hung aluminium front and rear subframes which, in turn, mount the suspension and other mechanical bits.

The wind tunnel still got a huge workout in the car’s development, of course, but the aim was to integrate the downforce-inducing elements rather than having them demanding your optical attention.

As a result, the whole car is an upside-down wing, if you want to simplify it. But a very pretty upside-down wing.

This gives the MC20 a smooth, sleek look that stands it apart from the rent-a-racer crowd and supports the theory that sometimes, less is, indeed, more.

Some of the detailing is lovely, too. The vents cut into the Perspex rear windscreen form Maserati’s trademark trident shape, there’s lots of visible carbon-fibre inside the door jambs, there’s lashings of Alcantara inside and the two-tone body kit breaks up the shape perfectly.

Elements we’re not so sure about include the 'Park' button mounted way down low under the dashboard, and the swing-up, scissor-type doors, which, if your more than about 180cm tall, still require you to duck under them.

On the upside, the carbon-and-leather steering wheel with its integrated controls is gorgeous to hold and gaze at.

Slap a Ferrari badge on it, and people would think it was the real deal - a pint-sized performance hustler, with all the right angles to get plenty of glances.

In fact, I had dozens of punters nod, wave, mount ‘nice car mate’ and even a few rubber-neck moments - you know, when you drive past and someone on the footpath can’t help but forget they’re walking, and they stare so hard they might well collide with the upcoming lamp-post. 

It really is a head-turner. So why does it only get an 8/10? Well, there are some elements of the design that make it less user-friendly than some of its rivals.

For instance, the step-in to the cabin is enormous, because the carbon-fibre tub sills are huge. And the cabin itself is pretty tight, especially for taller people. An Alpine A110 or Porsche Boxster are much more amenable for day-to-day driving… but hey, the 4C is markedly better than, say, a Lotus Elise for ingress and egress.

Also, as smart as it still looks, there are elements of Alfa Romeo design that have moved on since the 4C launched back in 2015. The headlights are the bit that I dislike most - I had a real thing for the spider-eyes lights of the launch edition model.

But even if it isn’t unmistakably Alfa Romeo, it’s unmistakably a 4C. 

Although the MC20 has a front and rear luggage compartment, they’re both small enough to be pretty much useless. This is a shame, because as a long-weekend getaway car, the Maserati otherwise makes a strong case for itself.

The other area that suffers for the car’s art is the interior practicality. While the driving position is great and the pedals and wheel relationship is spot on, when it comes to storing anything, you’re on your own. Best the MC20 can offer is a single cupholder at the rear of the central tunnel.

The mid-engined layout also means there’s precious little vision through the back window. To counter that, Maserati has fitted the MC20 with an interior rear-view mirror that can act as a conventional mirror (you can still see only the engine) or as a screen for the rear-mounted camera.

The catch is the image projected to the 'mirror' lacks depth of field and forces the driver to refocus on the image rather than simply glance at it.

You can’t get into a car this small and expect a lot of space.

The dimensions of the 4C are tiny - it’s just 3989mm long, 1868mm wide and only 1185mm tall, and as you can see from the pictures, it’s a squat little thing. The Spider’s removable roof could be great for you if you’re tall.

I’m six-feet tall (182cm) and I found it to be cocoon-like in the cabin. You feel almost as though you’re tying yourself to the tub of the car when you get into the driver’s seat. And getting in and out? Just make sure you do some stretches beforehand. It’s not as bad as a Lotus for ingress and egress, but it’s still hard to look good clambering in and out of. 

The cabin is a cramped space. There’s limited head room and leg room, and while there is reach and rake adjustment for the steering wheel, the seat only has manual slide and backrest movement - no lumbar adjust, no height adjust… almost like a racing bucket. They’re hard like a race seat, too. 

The ergonomics aren’t terrific - the controls for the air-con are hard to see at a glance, the buttons for the gear select take some learning, and the two centrally-mounted cup holders (one for your double-shot mocha latte, the other for a hazelnut piccolo) are inconveniently positioned exactly where you might want to put your elbow. 

The media system is rubbish. It’d be the first thing to go, if I bought one of these, and in its place would be an aftermarket touchscreen which would: a) actually let you pair to Bluetooth; b) look like it was from sometime after 2004; and c) be more fitting for a car of this price tag. I’d upgrade the speakers, too, because they’re poor. But I can totally understand if those things don’t matter, because it’s the engine you want to hear.

The materials - aside from the red leather seats - aren’t great. The plastics used are similar in look and feel to what you find in second-hand Fiats, but the sheer volume of exposed carbon-fibre does help you forget those details. And the leather pull straps to close the doors are nice, too. 

The visibility from the driver’s seat is decent - for this type of car. It’s low, and the rear window is small, so you can’t expect to see everything around you at all times, but the mirrors are good and the forward vision is excellent.

Look, no-one considering an Italian sports car is likely to be wearing their common sense hat, but even so, the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider is an indulgent purchase.

With a list price of $99,000 plus on-road costs, it isn’t affordable. Not considering what you get for your money.

Standard inclusions consist of air conditioning, remote central locking, heated electric door mirrors, leather sports seats with manual adjustment, a leather-lined steering wheel, and a four-speaker stereo system with USB connectivity and Bluetooth phone and audio streaming. It’s not a touchscreen, so there’s no Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, and there’s no sat nav… but the thing about this car is going the fun way home, so forget maps and GPS. And there’s a digital instrument cluster with a digital speedometer - believe me, you’ll need it.

The standard wheels are a staggered set - 17-inch at the front and 18-inch at the rear. All 4C models have bi-xenon headlights, LED daytime running lights, LED tail-lights and dual exhaust tips. 

Of course, being the Spider model, you also get a removable soft top and you know what’s neat? You get a car cover included as standard, but you’d want to put it in the shed, as it takes up a bit of boot room!

Our car was even further up the pay scale, with an as-tested price of $118,000 before on-roads - it had a few option boxes ticked. 

First there’s that beautiful Basalt Grey metallic paint ($2000), and those contrasting red brake calipers ($1000).

Plus there’s the Carbon & Leather package - with carbon-fibre mirror caps, interior bezels, and a stitched leather instrument cover panel. It’s a $4000 option.

And finally, the Racing Package ($12,000), which includes a staggered set of 18-inch and 19-inch wheels with a dark paint finish, and those wheels are fitted with model specific Pirelli P Zero tyres (205/40/18 up front, 235/35/19 at the rear). Plus theres the sports racing exhaust system, which is awesome, and a racing suspension setup. 

Previous generations of Maseratis borrowed Ferrari (both brands were once part of the extended Fiat Chrysler family) technology for their drivelines in a deal that allowed both brands to share the cost of development.

And since having a Ferrari-built engine in your car was never seen as a sale hindrance, it was a sweet deal for Maserati. But when Ferrari was spun off and became a publicly-owned company in 2016, Maserati’s supply of engines dried up.

The solution was to take engine design in-house and the twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 in the MC20 is one of the first fruits of that.

While it’s undoubtedly a high-tech powerplant, in other respects it’s fairly conventional. Maserati, for instance, has a long history with the V6 layout, and there’s no hybrid element to the driveline. Nor is there a hybrid option.

Maserati claims the V6 is the world’s most powerful six-cylinder production-car engine and, with no less than 463kW at 7500rpm and 730Nm between 3000 and 5500rpm, that’s a credible statement.

Technical details that you won’t see on most road cars include a dry-sump lubrication system (where the engine oil lives in a remote tank rather than the hot sump of the engine itself) and a sophisticated fuel injection system with two injectors per cylinder.

The real trick, however, is an ignition system with two spark plugs per cylinder. There are also effectively two combustion chambers, the first ensuring multiple flame fronts to achieve a more complete burn of the fuel in the main combustion chamber.

The rest of the driveline is similarly aimed at the purists out there; the transmission is an eight-speed dual-clutch, driving not all four wheels, but only the rears through a mechanical limited-slip differential.

Selectable drive modes from GT (the default setting) through to 'Wet', 'Sport', 'Corsa' (Track) and 'ESC Off' tailor the shift points, throttle sensitivity and suspension behaviour, but still allow for full engine power.

The Alfa Romeo 4C is powered by a 1.7-litre turbocharged petrol four-cylinder engine, which produces 177kW of power at 6000rpm and 350Nm of torque from 2200-4250rpm. 

The motor is mounted amidships, and it is rear-wheel drive. It uses a six-speed dual-clutch (TCT) automatic with launch control. 

Alfa Romeo claims a 0-100km/h time of 4.5 seconds, which makes it one of the quickest cars at this price point. 

Fuel economy is probably not going to be top of mind for most MC20 buyers, but the official combined figure of 11.6 litres per 100km is still pretty greedy by 2022 standards.

Balanced against the available performance, however, and an engine making more than 600 old-fashioned horsepower with that combined fuel-economy number is still cause to reflect on modern technology and efficiency.

The MC20 has a 60-litre fuel tank, making it a handy cross-country car for weekends away.

Claimed fuel consumption for the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider is rated at 6.9 litres per 100 kilometres, so it’s no miser.

But, impressively, I saw real-world fuel economy of 8.1L/100km, over a loop that included urban, highway and ‘spirited’ driving on twisty roads.

Here’s where your half-a-million bucks has gone.

The MC20’s acceleration is absolutely shattering and is all the more amazing for the fact the car uses neither all-wheel drive grip nor hybrid torque to achieve its sprinting abilities.

While the V6 is not the most sonorous of powerplants, it does manage to sound high-end and pretty sophisticated and it’s never as shouty as some of its opposition which seem to confuse decibels with kiloWatts.

While the sheer thrust confirms the existence of two turbochargers, the lack of lag (or throttle delay) and the ability to charge into the rev limiter in the lower gears does not.

Even though power peaks at 6500rpm (as with many a modern turbo motor) the MC20 will happily smash on to the redline at 8000rpm; sometimes too happily if you don’t have your finger over the upshift paddle. As with other good modern turbocharged units, this one doesn’t actually feel overtly turbocharged.

The transmission shifts relatively smoothly in GT mode, but as you crank up the mode selector to Sport, the shifts become very fast with an accompanying jolt through the backrest as each gear clicks home. The shifting process is fairly foolproof, although you do get full over-ride, so you need to pay attention.

Both the cars we were able to sample at Philip Island were sporting the optional carbon-ceramic braking package, and one was also fitted with the optional 'birdcage' alloy wheels which are lighter.

Each of them needed a firm shove on the pedal to slow things down, but it’s true the lighter wheels seem to be worth their almost-$3000 ask as that car required less leg-pressure for the same result.

The lack of a hybrid element to the driveline, as well as the rear-drive layout, suggests a degree of purity of purpose in the car’s design. And that’s backed up by its behaviour in the first corner.

Fundamentally, instead of just hurling it at an apex and allowing the electronics to sort it all out for you, the Maserati requires a more 'classical' technique if it’s to really shine.

It doesn’t, for instance, reward trail-braking (where you continue to brake once you’ve turned into a corner) and would much prefer you get your braking over and done with before applying any meaningful steering lock.

Ignore this, and the rear weight bias of the mid-engined layout can see the car try to yaw, with the rear end becoming light and the vehicle over-rotating (which is a spin, to you and I).

Similarly, getting on the power before you’ve actually got the MC20 turned, can unload the front end and send the front wheels ploughing (ploughing is an exaggeration, but at the speeds we’re dealing with here, even a small degree is a big deal) towards the outside of the turn.

Ultimately, then, the technique becomes a text-book case of brake, turn and then power out, at which point the MC20 reveals itself to be huge fun and incredibly fast. The only thing to deal with then is the knowledge that whatever happens next is going to happen extremely quickly.

I said that it’s like a rollercoaster, and it really, truly is. The air doesn’t quite rush through your hair as much, sure - but with the roof off, the windows down and the speedometer constantly edging towards licence suspension, it’s a real hoot of an experience.

It just feels so tight - the carbon-fibre monocoque chassis is rigid and super stiff. You hit a cats-eye and its all so sensitive, you could mistake it for having hit an actual cat. 

Alfa Romeo’s DNA drive modes - the letters stand for Dynamic, Natural, All Weather - is one of those proper examples of this type of system done well. There’s a marked difference between how these different settings operate, where some other drive modes out there are more sedate in their adjustments. There’s a fourth mode - Alfa Race - which I didn’t dare sample on public roads. Dynamic was enough to test my mettle. 

The steering in Natural mode is lovely - there’s great weighting and feedback, super direct and incredibly in touch with the surface below you, and the engine isn’t quite as zesty, but still offers tremendous response on the move. 

It’ll be a difficult choice between this and Alpine A110 and a Porsche Cayman

The ride is firm but composed and compliant in any of the drive modes, and it doesn’t have adaptive suspension. It is a stiffer suspension setup, and though the damping doesn’t change in Dynamic mode, if the surface is anything but perfect you will tram-track and twitch all over the place, because the steering feels even more dialled in. 

In Dynamic mode the engine offers amazing response when you’re at pace, building speed incredibly and before you know it, you’re in licence loss zone.

The brake pedal requires some firm footwork - just like in a race car - but it pulls up strongly when you need it to. You’ve just gotta get used to the pedal feel. 

The transmission is a good thing at speed in manual mode. It won’t overrule you if you want to find the redline, and it sounds tremendous. The exhaust is exhilarating!

With roof on and windows up there’s very noticeable noise intrusion - lots of tyre roar and engine noise. But remove the roof and drop the windows and you get the full effect of the drive experience - you’ll even get some "sut-tu-tu” wastegate flutter. It doesn’t even matter that much that the stereo system is so rubbish.

At normal speeds in normal driving you do need to be considerate of the powertrain because it is finnicky and slow to react at times. There’s notable lag if you’re gentle on the throttle, both from engine and transmission, and the fact peak torque doesn’t come on song until 2200rpm means there’s lag to contend with. 

It’ll be a difficult choice between this and Alpine A110 and a Porsche Cayman – each of these vehicles has a very different character. But for me, this is the most go-kart like and it is, undeniably incredibly involving to drive.

You’re in the wrong spot if you want the latest in safety technology. Sure, it’s at the cutting edge because it has an ultra strong carbon-fibre design, but there’s not much else happening here.

The 4C has dual front airbags, rear parking sensors and an alarm with tow-away protection, plus - of course - electronic stability control. 

But there are no side airbags or curtain airbags, there’s no reversing camera, there’s no auto emergency braking (AEB) or lane keep assist, no lane departure warning or blind spot detection. Admittedly - there are a few other sports cars in the segment which lack safety smarts, too, but 

The 4C has never been crash tested, so there’s no ANCAP or Euro NCAP safety score available.

High-end cars often disappoint on the details, and the Maserati is no different here, offering just a three-year factory warranty (albeit with unlimited kilometres).

That trails even the most humble commuter cars these days, and suggests there’s still a degree of indifference from some carmakers. And, possibly, their customers.

There is, however, the option of fixed-price servicing for the MC20 with the first three years’ worth of servicing costing $4000.

Scheduled services are every 15,000km or 12 months, whichever comes first.

If you’re hoping that a ‘simple’ car like the 4C will mean low ownership costs, you might be disappointed in this section.

The Alfa Romeo website service calculator suggests that over 60 months or 75,000km (with service intervals set every 12 months/15,000km), you will have to fork out $6625 total. For a breakdown, the services cost $895, $1445, $895, $2495, $895.

I mean, that’s what you get when you buy an Italian sports car, I suppose. But consider you can get a Jaguar F-Type with five years of free servicing, and the Alfa looks like a rip-off. 

The Alfa does, however, come with a three-year/150,000km warranty plan, which includes the same cover for roadside assist.