There are some adjustments required, however, as the 4C doesn’t have power steering. Much like a Lotus, with which the 4C now competes with on price, the Alfa Romeo forces you to drive and pay attention. This is not a car you can drive one handed.
For our test drive we engaged the outskirts of Sydney towards the old pacific highway and its surrounding winding roads. Here, we experienced the sheer ferocity of which the Alfa can take a corner and accelerate out. Lotus buyers would be pleased to know that there’s now finally an option to switch teams, and still feel right at home.
Although it lacks a manual gearbox, shifting instead with a rapid fire dual-clutch six-speed transmission (150ms per shift), the 4C is never lacking driver engagement.
The 40:60 front:rear weight balance adds a certain element of enjoyable danger to driving the supercar-like mid-engine 4C at speed. Around a twisty stretch of road there’s no obvious tendency to oversteer at first but push it hard enough and it will bite, with anger.
Mid-corner and well past the recommended speed limit, the little Italian supercar only grins and asks for more. The grip from the wheels wrapped in 205/45 R17 tyres up front and 235/40Â tyres at the rear is race car like in the dry.
As is the engine note, with its wastegate and air intake growling at every opportunity with a turbocharger discharge and exhaust note that will attract the hard working men in blue like a downhill road with a speed-limit change.
But it’s not just cornering grip that’s impressive, for a car that can do 0-100km/h in 4.5 seconds, it’s the ability to continue pushing well past jail-worthy speeds that prove its credentials amongst instant-classics.
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