NEWS: Alfa 4C Geneva Debut

Alfa Romeo's gorgeous, exciting compact, rear-drive, mid-engined, two-seater supercar is set to make its début at the 83rd Geneva Motor Show this year. Alfa says: "The new Alfa Romeo 4C is the result of experience built up with the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione model produced in the Maserati plant in Modena and it will be available for purchase in 2013, marking the return of the Italian brand to the United States." It's small – less than 4 metres in length, 200 cm wide, 118 cm high and with a wheelbase of less than 2.4 metres. It will be powered by a new (revised version of the Quadrifoglio Verde version of the Giulietta) 4 cylinder 1750 Turbo Petrol all-aluminium engine, with trick twin scroll turbo and and a revolutionary scavenging control system that gets rid of any turbo lag. It will also have Alfa's TCT twin clutch automatic transmission, with a new Alfa 'DNA' ECU/gearbox mapping selector with a new Race mode. The chassis meanwhile is 100% carbon fibre with load-bearing and structural function, so we can expect it to be light, with a weight to power ratio less than 4 kg/HP.
The 4C name is an acronym – "drawing its inspiration from the brand’s glorious past, projecting the values of technology and emotions into the future. Indeed, it refers to Alfa Romeo’s great sporting tradition: the acronyms 8C and 6C in the 1930s and 1940s distinguished cars – both racing and road – fitted with the powerful ‘eight cylinders’ and the innovative ‘six cylinders’, confirming in its design layout and construction the goal of achieving the power/weight ratio of an authentic supercar, less than 4 kg/HP, yet focusing not merely on the maximum power delivered, but on limiting the weight to guarantee maximum agility and top performance. To this end, the Alfa Romeo 4C uses technologies and materials derived from super sports cars (including the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione) – carbon fibre, aluminium, rear-wheel drive – and technologies from the latest standard models from Alfa Romeo, but updated to enhance the sports appeal of the new car even further. This is demonstrated by the new 1750 Turbo Petrol all-aluminium engine with direct injection, the sophisticated Alfa TCT twin dry clutch transmission and the Alfa DNA selector with the unprecedented Race mode."
Looking forward to that... you? RWD turbo fun. But is it a supercar, with a 1.8-litre engine? Even with those looks and all the trick carbon, electro goodies? You decide... 

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