automotivebriefs
9:33in productionCh. 1 · Who made it—and where/ 9:33 · ceiling 15 min
Sports cars · Road

Alfa Romeo 4C

A carbon-tubbed, turbo-four, mid-engined Alfa that trades comfort for clarity—and never apologises.

The Alfa Romeo 4C is a focused, uncompromising expression of mid-engined sports car logic—light, stiff, direct. It sacrifices isolation and utility to sharpen the connection between driver and road. Its design solves for feedback, not comfort.

Chapters & takeaways4
  1. 1:09
    Who made it—and where

    Designed by Tencone and Ramaciotti, built by Maserati in Modena from May 2013.

  2. 2:25
    How it’s laid out

    Rear mid-engine, rear-wheel drive, turbocharged 1.75 L inline-four.

  3. 3:58
    Why it’s light

    The carbon-fibre monocoque weighs just 65 kg—less than the driver.

  4. 5:52
    Two bodies, one idea

    Launched as a coupé in 2013; roadster followed in 2015.

Worth your time?

Yes. Drive the whole thing.

4/ 5
What works
  • weight distribution
  • material hierarchy
  • seating position
What does not
  • comfort
  • practicality
  • refinement
Drive it if
  • drivers who value feedback over forgiveness
Skip it if
  • those who need daily usability
The written brief1 min read

What the car is and where it came from

A two-seat, rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive sports car designed by Marco Tencone and Lorenzo Ramaciotti at Centro Stile Alfa Romeo. Built by Maserati in Modena from May 2013. Marketed by Alfa Romeo until 2020.

How it works, in terms someone would actually use

It places the driver low and central, with a carbon-fibre tub that transmits every road ripple through the seat and wheel. The turbocharged four-cylinder engine sits behind the seats. The twin-clutch transmission shifts quickly but without drama. The rear-wheel-drive layout demands attention on exit. The chassis is stiff, light, and unyielding.

What it gets right

It gets the weight distribution right: 40% front, 60% rear. It gets the material hierarchy right: carbon-fibre monocoque, aluminium subframes, minimal steel. It gets the seating position right: eyes level with the bonnet line, hands close to the chest.

What it does not

It does not isolate the driver from noise, vibration, or mechanical intrusion. It does not offer adaptive suspension, all-wheel drive, or a usable boot. It does not soften its edges for daily use.

What it changed

It proved Alfa Romeo could build a lightweight, mid-engined sports car without relying on a V8 or heritage badge alone. It shifted focus from displacement to architecture.

Who it is for, and who it is not

It is for drivers who prioritise feedback over forgiveness. It is not for those who need practicality, quiet, or ease of entry and exit.

Is it worth your time

Yes—if you want to feel how a sports car’s structure and layout shape its behaviour, not just its speed. No—if you need comfort, space, or refinement.

Same garage · Sports cars4 of 93
9:37
Ford RS200Ghia · 1984The Ford RS200 is a purpose-built homologation special: mid-engined, all-wheel drive, plastic-fiberglass body by Ghia, built by Reliant in Shenstone to meet FIA Group B’s 200-unit rule. It exists only to enable a rally car—not as a design statement, luxury product, or road-going evolution.
10:11
Nissan 180SXNissan · 1989The Nissan 180SX is a Japanese-market fastback built from 1988 to 1998 on the S13 platform. It featured pop-up headlights and a liftgate. It launched in March 1989 and was sold exclusively through Nissan Prince Stores alongside the Skyline and Silvia. It used the CA18DET turbo engine initially, then upgraded to the SR20DET in 1991 and added the SR20DE in 1996.
9:26
Renault Clio V6 RSRenault Sport · 2001The Renault Clio V6 RS is a radical departure from the hot hatch formula: mid-engined, rear-wheel drive, hand-built, and deliberately impractical. It exists as a mechanical argument—against front-drive orthodoxy, against shared-platform economics, against the idea that a ‘hatch’ must behave like one. Its legacy is not volume or versatility, but velocity of idea.
8:58
Saleen S7Phil Frank · 2000The Saleen S7 is an American hand-built, high-performance sports car. It debuted on August 19, 2000, at the Monterey Historic Races. It was the first fully proprietary car produced by Saleen. Phil Frank contributed the body and interior CAD design and development. Its all-aluminium engine is a bored-and-stroked derivative of Ford's 351 Windsor small block with Cleveland-style canted valve heads. It is not based on the FE big-block. It produces 550 hp (410 kW) at 6,400 rpm.
Up next in Automotive

Alfa Romeo 75

Ermanno Cressoni · 1985 · 9:27

Alfa put the gearbox at the back so the car would handle like it had no front end — and it worked.

9:27