The 2020 Alfa Romeo 4C Spider Italia is Good News, Bad News at the Same Time

TopSpeed

By Ciprian Florea

Published Feb 9, 2019

it could be the last time we hear of this Italian roadster

If you're a fan of performance cars, the 2019 Chicago Auto Show must be really boring to you. Packed with trucks and special-edition SUVs, you have to dig deep to find some cool sports car in there, and most of them are actually classics. There is an exception worth checking out though: the 2020 Alfa Romeo 4C Spider Italia.

A limited-series, special edition version of the familiar roadster, the 4C Spider Italia comes with good and bad news for both Alfa Romeo and sports car enthusiasts.

Good news: it's here to stay for another year

Alfa Romeo decided to axe the coupe version and the U.S., but the Spider remained on offer on the company's website. The Spider Italia version confirms that the 4C will remain available in the United States at least for the 2020 model year. The nameplate might not make it into 2021, so you'd better hurry if you want one.

Bad news: it's not that special

The "Italia" badge is a bit misleading. A designation we usually associate with Ferrari, mostly thanks to the cool 458 Italia, this name does nothing to improve the 4C Spider's performance. The roadster features the same turbocharged, 1.75-liter four-cylinder engine under the hood, rated at the standard 237 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. Sure, that's nothing to sneeze at considering that the 4C Spider tips the scales at only 2,337 pounds, but this car deserves a power bump since it's about to go into the history books.

Still, it's quick enough from 0 to 60 mph, needing only 4.1 seconds, and it keeps on charging until it hits a top speed of 160 mph.

So what makes the Spider an Italia then? Well, it comes in an exclusive Misano Blue Metallic exterior color. It's really bright and makes the car stand out and, more importantly, it's not available on any other 4C variant. The exterior is rounded off by unique graphics on the rear fenders showing Italy's green, white, and red national flag. Inside the cabin, Alfa Romeo added an aluminum dashboard insert with "4C Spider Italia" lettering and a numbered plate on the center console. The latter is numbered from 1 to 15, as Alfa Romeo will make only 15 examples of this special edition.

Alfa Romeo 4C Spider - drivetrain specifications

Engine	1,742 CC, Turbocharged 4-Cylinder
Engine (Horsepower @ RPM)	237 HP @ 6,000 RPM
Engine Torque (Pound-Feet @ RPM)	258 @ 2,100 - 3,750 RPM
Transmission	Dual Dry Clutch Six-Speed Automatic
Acceleration (0-62 MPH)	4.5 Seconds
Top Speed	160 MPH

Good news: it's still somewhat affordable

That's not cheap, but it isn't very expensive either. Remember, we're talking about a true-blue, lightweight sports car here and a limited edition run that will probably become a collector's item in the future. Of course, you can buy a Chevy Corvette or the new Toyota Supra for that kind of dough, but you won't get a similar power-to-weight ratio unless you spend in excess of $100,000. If you live in Europe though, you can always get a Lotus or a Caterham.

Bad news: The bare-bones sports car is dying with it

At least not one that's lightweight and free of modern technology that's turns a sports car into a home appliance on wheels. Take a quick look at what's on the market and what's coming and you can't miss the fact that the bare-bones sports car market is slowly dying. Lotus and Caterham are among the very few automakers that are keeping the flag flying, but who knows what will happen to them in the future. For what it represents, the 4C didn't get the attention it deserves. And it might go into the history books in a too quiet manner.