Alfa Romeo’s Long Dead 4C Rises… Again
Despite being axed in 2020 Alfa Romeo has just announced a new trio of 4C sports cars, inspired by a racing hero.
Earlier this year Alfa Romeo delivered five special 4Cs to celebrate 75 years of Abarth and now another three cars are under construction. This time the reason for reincarnation is as a tribute to former F1 driver and DTM champion Nicola Larini.
Larini, who drove the awesome Alfa Romeo 155 V6 Ti to victory in 1993, has even had a hand in the cars’ design, picking three striking paint hues: pine green, plum red and ochre yellow—all based on the 1970s Giulia GT. These bright colors are also used for the alloy wheels, while the front and rear bumpers are painted a contrasting white. Additional touches include Quadrifoglio badging on the front fenders, a enhanced Alfa Romeo logo, and Larini’s signature.
At Larini’s request the interiors were retrimmed in a new back microfiber material for a more sporty feel that also removes potentially distracting reflections from the windscreen, and provides better grip for the seats and steering wheel.
The Italian racer was involved in developing the 4C and claims it as a favorite. “I had the chance to fully get to know, experience, and drive it on a real proving ground like Balocco,” he recalls. “I had the opportunity to push it to its limits there, and I understood that, despite being a road vehicle, it was made for the racetrack. Due to its capabilities, you can’t understand how secure it is until you push it to the edge. I’ve never driven such an easy car to manage at high speeds.”
“I think that the 4C will forever remain in the hearts of car enthusiasts and, especially, new owners of the new collection which bears my name. I hope they enjoy the very best sporty driving experience,” says Larini.
Strictly speaking the 4C Nicola Larini models are not new cars, having been customized by Stellantis Heritage as part of a “Reloaded by Creators” program, which has included the Abarth Classiche 1300 OT, Fiat 500 Trepiuno built to mark 20 years since its re-introduction, and even a wild Fiat Multipla 6×6.
So are these customer cars that were customized or are they for sale somewhere? They look nice but looks was never the 4C’s problem.
“At Larini’s request the interiors were retrimmed in a new back microfiber material for a more sporty feel…”
It’s a shame he didn’t request a manual transmission for a more sporty feel. I would definitely have bought a 4C during initial production if there would have been a manual available. They seemed to me somewhat of a rebirth of the original Dino.