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  6. 2015 Alfa Romeo 4C Launch Edition Track Package First Test

2015 Alfa Romeo 4C Launch Edition Track Package First Test

Don't Call It a Comeback

Ever since leaving the New World in 1994 with its tail in between its legs, Alfa Romeo has looking for a way back into the lucrative North American marketplace. Fourteen years after it first left, Alfa attempted to return to the U.S. with the beautiful 8C Competizione, which was to spearhead an Italian invasion backed by the Alfa Brera and 159. Though the 8C sold out quickly, Alfa's plans for a national dealer network never panned out. With parent company Fiat now the proud owner of Chrysler, and a national network of Fiat and Maserati dealers backing it, the 2015 Alfa Romeo 4C Launch Edition is the brand's latest foray into the U.S. The question remains though: Is Alfa here for good?

If the strength of the new 4C is any indication, we sure hope so. Our Rosso Alfa tester (we also recently tested the gray example seen in the gallery below) is the first of 500 Alfas set to hit our shores. The 500 2015 Alfa Romeo 4C Launch Edition models are also the sportiest 4Cs you can currently get, with the Track Package (consisting of a "race-"tuned suspension), sport seats, unique wheels, Pirelli P-Zeros, and a muffler-free "racing exhaust" all mandatory add-ons. Read our First Test review about a 4C equipped with smaller wheels and cloth seats HERE.

Before even climbing down into the low-slung 4C's cabin, there's plenty to like. Its carbon fiber tub and aluminum chassis help keep the pounds off, with our tester weighing in at a scant 2440 pounds. The light weight is pretty important, because the mid-mounted 1.7-liter turbocharged I-4 produces only 237 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque. That all-aluminum turbo-4 is. in turn, mounted to a six-speed twin-clutch automatic, which comes courtesy of the Dodge Dart.

There's plenty to like about the Alfa. It drives exceptionally well on the right roads. Its 237-hp turbo-4 combined with its six-speed twin-clutch is more than enough to get the flyweight rocking and rolling quickly down the road. The run from 0-60 mph takes just 4.1 seconds, with the quarter mile coming in 12.8 seconds at 104.8 mph. With four-piston Brembo calipers up front (and dual-opposing calipers in back), the Alfa comes to a stop from 60 mph in just 96 feet.

The pricey carbon fiber tub, mid-mounted engine, and manual steering rack pack dividends in the corners. The Alfa sped around our figure eight in 24.3 seconds, pulling an average of 0.84 g as it lapped the course. On the skidpad, the 4C averaged 0.98 lateral g.

The Alfa Romeo compares well with its nearest competitor, the Lotus Exige, which you can no longer buy new in the U.S. The last Exige we tested, a 2009 Exige S260, hit 60 mph in 4.3 seconds and lapped the figure eight in 24.7 seconds at 0.76 g. A comparably equipped Corvette Stingray Z51 will hit 60 mph in 3.7 seconds and lap the figure eight in 23.8 seconds at 0.86 g average, while a Porsche Cayman S will do the same in 3.9 seconds and 24.2 seconds at 0.82 g, respectively.

With impressive performance like that, you'd be right to believe the Alfa's log book would be filled with positive notes -- and it mostly was. "They should have called this car the Dino," said senior features editor Jonny Lieberman. "Ultra-light, ultra-stiff carbon fiber tub, no power steering, no mufflers, turbocharged four-banger sitting right behind your head, and looks that don't quit kill, but that do make you feel awfully tingly." Our resident racecar driver, Randy Pobst, declared, "It's a stunning rebirth of the Italian sports car."

The praise isn't unwarranted. The Alfa can be tremendous fun on the right road, and especially on a track. The taut ride, communicative steering, and upright seating position give the 4C a racecar-like feel on the track. And on smooth pavement, the Alfa flows gracefully from corner to corner, its manual steering rack weighing up nicely, and its engine putting the power down through an open diff extraordinarily well.

On anything other than glass-smooth pavement though, it's easy to fall out of love with the 4C. The stiff ride immediately becomes punishing and busy, while its steering rack, which is light on-center, rapidly firms and softens up without any real rhyme or reason, which proved difficult for some staffers (including me) to get used to. Said my colleague technical director Frank Markus, "Everyone knows Italians talk with their hands, and so does this one -- its hands are the steering wheel, which has to rank as the most communicative I've grasped in years.

"Some will say it's too talkative and needs to know when to keep some secrets. The younger staffers don't seem to understand that the purpose of steering weight is to signal the level of lateral g the tires are generating. It's supposed to get heavy when the cornering gets heavy. That's how you know you're nearing the limits of adhesion." But as Lieberman said in his notes, "You really have to wrestle the car when you hit bad pavement. Some on staff think that's just good steering feel. Could be, but it's also a bit much."

Aside from ride and handling performance that no one can seem to agree upon, the Alfa is a letdown inside. Sure, the carbon fiber tub is exposed, and the important bits like the steering wheel are covered in Alcantara and leather, but the rest of the interior feels extraordinarily cheap for a car that starts at around $55,000. Sure Alfa may be losing money on each 4C it hand-builds each year, but to me that doesn't justify the leather pouch for a glove box, seats that don't recline past a 90-degree angle, and hands-down the worst audio system ever put in a production car. The 4C's head unit, a Parrot head unit that Alfa likely got a bulk deal on from Costco, is god-awful. Apologies to Mr. Markus, who purchased the same head unit for his own car, but it's the worst unit I've ever experienced. It constantly turned the volume up and down on its own, wouldn't change stations, and often crashed. I know the audio system is an afterthought on a driver's car like the 4C, but for the love of God, Alfa, get rid of it. There's nothing like tearing up your favorite canyon road to all of a sudden having music blaring in your ears mid-apex.

While those are issues unacceptable in a $55,000 car, they're just about inexcusable in a $69,545 car like our tester -- especially given how good the 4C's competition, including the new Corvette Stingray and Porsche Cayman, is. That's a lot of dough to throw at a car that would be borderline masochistic to drive every day. While an impressive performer, a treat on the track, and at home on glass-smooth surfaces, the Alfa 4C is ultimately tough to live with on a daily basis. Though the Alfisti will no doubt flock to it, I'm not convinced the buyers Alfa needs to give it a viable market in the U.S. will. That said, with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles throwing money at new rear-drive platforms for Alfa Romeo, here's hoping this one sticks.

2015 Alfa Romeo 4C Launch Edition Track Package
BASE PRICE $55,195
ENGINE 1.7L/237-hp/258-lb-ft turbo DOHC 16-valve I-4
TRANSMISSION 6-speed twin-clutch auto.
CURB WEIGHT (F/R DIST) 2440 lb (41/59%)
LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT 157.5 x 73.5 x 46.6 in
0-60 MPH 4.1 sec
QUARTER MILE 12.8 sec @ 104.8 mph
BRAKING, 60-0 MPH 96 ft
MT FIGURE EIGHT 24.3 sec @ 0.84 g (avg)
CO2 EMISSIONS 0.70 lb/mile