GENEVA MOTOR SHOW: Alfa goes topless

Alfa Romeo lifted the lid on its mid-engined 4C sportscar at Geneva. The 4C Spider was the star of the iconic Italian marque’s stand that also played host to the public debut of QV versions of the Giulietta and Mito hatches.

The 4C Spider features the same carbon-fibre monocoque as its coupe counterpart. Additional rollover protection is provided by a carbon-fibre windscreen frame which, in the show car at least, was unpainted and sported a stunning high-gloss finish.

Alfa Romeo stated the car on the Geneva stand was a “pre-series” vehicle. Production of the Spider will commence in early 2015, global brand boss Harald Wester stated.

Running gear is unchanged in the Spider. The mid-engined, rear drive two-seater features a transverse mounted turbocharged 1.8-litre four-cylinder matched to Fiat Group’s TCT twin-clutch transmission. Power and torque outputs are claimed at 177kW and 350Nm respectively.

The 4C Spider show car features a unique paint finish described as “Three-layer Glossy White”. Styling differences from the coupe include the carbon windscreen frame and contrasting rear sheet moulded roll hoop/rear bulkhead and new simpler projector style headlamps. The coupe’s multi-element lights have drawn criticism from some corners.

Alfa has also upped the interior finish of the Spider, although the compact sporty is still without some of the ‘basics’ such as satnav... expected at the $80-90,000 price tag it’ll arrive with Down Under.

No details were provided of the roof system for the Spider. We expect it will comprise a lift-out panel, although its not clear whether you will be able to stow that in the car.

Expected production mass for the Spider is still under 1000kg. Variously it's reported the open car is around 60kg heavier than the coupe.

Fiat Chrysler Australia boss Veronica Johns told motoring.com.au around one third of her company’s allocation of 4Cs will be Spiders. In total, she expects Australia to receive around 300 4Cs over its production period.

The 4C is seen by many as a low volume interim model for the brand. A cheaper-rear drive roadster co-developed with Mazda’s MX-5 was expected to be the first volume Alfa Romeo, but doubts have now been raised on the likelihood of that car wearing an Alfa badge (see separate story).

In transition, as parent company Fiat Chrysler Automobiles formalises its strategy for the marque, Alfa Romeo will launch into the North American market with the 4C in 2015. Group CEO Sergio Marchionne said plans for the rest of Alfa Romeo’s platform strategy, model lines and global relaunch would be announced in May (2014).

“We’ve made significant progress in terms of the architectural choices involved, in some of the key elements, the key technical elements of what Alfa Romeo will be going forward... I’m still hopeful that we’ll be in production by the end of 2015 with the first vehicle, which is representative of the new Alfas going forward.

“It is a huge amount of work”, Marchionne said.

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