The Alfa Romeo 4C has had a turbulent life. It started on a high note when it was introduced in 2013. But since then, the 4C has had an up-and-down existence. Some people swore by its looks and handling, while others were dismayed by its lack of over-the-top power. Five years later, the 4C remains a resilient presence in its segment. Sales have tapered off, but Alfa has no plans of discontinuing the model. On the other hand, don’t expect it to get stamped with the company’s Quadrifoglio badge, either. The Alfa Romeo 4C will remain as it is, though a possible update is in the cards soon.

Pieter Hogeveen, Director of Alfa Romeo North America, recently spoke with GTSpirit to talk about the state of the 4C. According to Hogeveen, the Alfa Romeo 4C isn’t going to get a Quadrifoglio version because the sports coupe doesn’t need one. “It stands on its own as a performance car, so there’s really no need to Quadrifoglio-ize it”, he said. “It’s already the best in its class.”

I admire Hogenveen’s faith in the 4C, but I wouldn’t go out on a limb and call it the “best in its class.” It’s a worthy contender for that title, but it does belong in a segment that also includes a standout like the Porsche Cayman and an up-and-coming contender in the form of the Alpine A110. The latter, in fact, is getting all sorts of positive reviews. It’s also scheduled to hit the market this year, so that’s one more 4C rival Alfa Romeo needs to consider.

That’s not to say that the 4C is going to get buried because Alfa does have big plans for it in the future. Hogeveen just isn’t revealing anything to satisfy our curiosities. “Beyond that, I’m not at liberty to say,” he added.

So if you were looking forward to an Alfa Romeo 4C Quadrifoglio, don’t expect to see one anytime soon. There is that possibility that Hogeveen is playing coy and giving us a taste of misdirection, but the more likely scenario is that he’s telling the truth. The 4C Quadrifoglio is out of the question, but some meaningful updates are still coming. His sentiment was echoed last month by the company’s engineering boss, Roberto Fedeli, who told Autocar that Alfa wants to turn the 4C into a “proper sports car that can serve as one of the company’s halo models.”

So that’s something that we can look forward to. The Alfa Romeo 4C Quadrifoglio appears to be out of the cards, but if the scheduled update lives up to our expectations, it may not need a QV badge at all.

References

Alfa Romeo 4C

Read our full review on the 2017 Alfa Romeo 4C.

Read our full review on the 2017 Alfa Romeo 4C Spider.

Read more Alfa Romeo news.