When it comes to U.S. and Canadian dealerships this summer, it will be available in seven exterior colors (including Rosso Competizione Tri-coat) and with six interior combos, six wheel choices (which can get as large as 18 x 7 inches in the front and 19 x 8.5 inches in the rear), and four brake caliper colors.
The 4C Spider’s standard premium-leather interior can be dressed up with a new Carbon Fiber Trim Package. An Alpine audio system will allow for the use of a Bluetooth-connected phone and Bluetooth streaming, a USB port, an iPod, CD/MP3 playback, HD radio, and SiriusXM satellite radio. Let’s hope it’s a more user-friendly unit than the one in the 4C coupe reviewed on 6SpeedOnline last month.
A choice from three exhaust systems will be offered on the 4C Spider: a standard setup, a racing unit, and a dual-mode, center-mounted titanium system from Akrapovic, which will be available later. An optional exposed carbon fiber hardtop will be as well; a removable, stowable cloth roof will be standard.
The 4C Spider’s canyon-carving abilities can be heightened with an available Track Package, which, according to Alfa Romeo, includes “high-performance shock absorbers with larger front- and rear-sway bars, with available Pirelli P-Zero ‘AR Racing’ tires,” along with various special interior and exterior touches.
Helping the 4C Spider’s performance from the start is a lighter-than-steel body made of sheet-molded compound, a carbon fiber windshield frame, and a stiff carbon fiber monocoque. In fact, it’s so rigid that engineers only had to increase the 4C’s weight by 22 pounds (for a total of 2,487) to make it structurally sound as a Spider.
Like the coupe, the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider will be powered by a 237-horsepower 1.75-liter turbocharged I4 running through a six-speed dual-clutch transmission.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
