The Alfa Romoe 4C is one car the public is keeping a riveted eye for. The little 4C hasn’t failed to impress press members and as well as starting to collect accolades.
Alfa Romeo’s Glorious Come Back, the 4C
Press Release: The new Alfa Romeo 4C on the Nordschleife, the historic Nürburgring circuit. On 12 September it stopped chronometers at 8’04”, the top time of cars with engines under 250 HP and in line with times set by sports cars with much higher prices and more powerful engines. Driver, journalist and expert on the German track Horst von Saurma was behind the wheel.
The test conducted at the ‘Green Hell’ of the German complex is one of the countless tests that the Alfa Romeo supercar had to face in every part of the world, from the -35° in Sweden to the +40° of Abu Dhabi, from the Arizona (USA) deserts to the slopes of Mt. Etna in Sicily, and from the Balocco (VC), Italy track – where all Alfa Romeos have been developed, perfected and tested since 1962 – to the one at the Nürburgring.
Used by car manufacturers the world over as a test track over the past few years, the Nordschleife is marked by a particular configuration that alternates slow and fast curves, straight stretches and ups and downs to make it an outstanding testing ground for determining the soundness of a project.
In short, the ‘Green Hell’ proved to be the ideal place to put the performance features of the Alfa Romeo 4C to the test. This true driving machine without compromise delivers its best precisely on the track, where speed, short braking distances and transverse acceleration are essential to get first-rate lap times: from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.5 seconds flat, 258 km/h of top speed, deceleration peaks in the range of 1.2 g and lateral acceleration peaks over 1.1 g. All this is achieved also owing to an optimum weight distribution – 40% on the front axle and 60% of the rear axle – and to a weight to power ratio under 4 kg/HP, values worthy of a true supercar.
Its performance was first-rate also due to the combination of the new 240 HP 1750 Turbo Petrol engine with the latest-generation ‘Alfa TCT’ dry twin clutch gearbox and the advanced Alfa DNA selector with the brand-new Race mode. More specifically, the new ‘4 cylinder’ 1750 Turbo Petrol with direct injection at 200 bar and aluminium block achieves amazing performance. Torque and specific power set new records for this size of engine at over 200 Nm/l and 137 HP/l, respectively, while maximum power of 240 HP (176 kW) is reached at 6000 rpm. The maximum torque of 350 Nm ensures its extraordinary elasticity and sportiness since it is maintained constant between 2100 and 4000 rpm, but 80% of the torque is already available at just 1800 rpm.
Also contributing to the Alfa Romeo 4C’s performance at the Nürburgring were the special Pirelli P Zero Trofeo tyres, the most sporty version in the Pirelli P Zero line. A record was set not only on the track, but also in the development of the tyres. Less than one year of collaboration between Pirelli and Alfa Romeo engineers went into the development of the best solution for guaranteeing grip and precision driving of the car, just like in the days of the 159 that Fangio drove to victory in F1. This is how the ‘AR’ P Zero tyres came into being. Available in two sizes, 17″ front – 18″ rear and 18″ front – 19″ rear, they ensure grip, performance, sportiness and precision driving. The ‘AR Racing’ version, offered in the sizes 18″ front – 19″ rear, emphasises these features and is ideal not only on the road, but also for use on the track.
