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Alfa Romeo 4C: The little red racer (pictures)

Alfa Romeo shows the much-admired and race-inspired 4C in production form at the 2013 Geneva auto show. Shame about those headlights, though.

Wayne Cunningham
Wayne Cunningham reviews cars and writes about automotive technology for CNET's Roadshow. Prior to the automotive beat, he covered spyware, Web building technologies, and computer hardware. He began covering technology and the Web in 1994 as an editor of The Net magazine.
Wayne Cunningham
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1 of 8 Wayne Cunningham/CNET
GENEVA--If you can't afford a Ferrari, the Alfa Romeo 4C may be just the thing to satisfy any Italian sports car lust. Alfa Romeo showed this car off two years ago in Geneva as a concept, and this year brings the real thing to life. Very little has changed from the concept car, a rarity in the automotive world.
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2 of 8 Wayne Cunningham/CNET
The most unfortunate detail are these headlight casings, odd matte-black pieces pierced with holes for the main projector, signal, and parking lights. The lack of a lens over the whole casing makes the design look even more out of place.
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3 of 8 Wayne Cunningham/CNET
Headlights aside, the 4C should be an impressive performer, as its carbon fiber tub, aluminum suspension elements, and composite body panels keep the overall weight down to about 2,000 pounds.
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4 of 8 Wayne Cunningham/CNET
The 4C is a rear-wheel-drive car with weight distribution of 40 percent front and 60 percent rear. Alfa Romeo chose to do without power steering as a weight-saving measure, which means the wheel will likely have some heft to it.
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5 of 8 Wayne Cunningham/CNET
The engine sits under the rear canopy, its covers visible through the rear window. This position leads to the aforementioned 40/60 weight distribution. The 4C uses a turbocharged direct injection 1.75-liter four cylinder, good for 240 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. Alfa Romeo says the 4C will hit 62 mph in 4.5 seconds.
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6 of 8 Wayne Cunningham/CNET
Alfa Romeo hangs a dual-clutch automated manual transmission off the engine. The driver can shift it sequentially, using paddles on the steering wheel, or leave it in automatic.
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7 of 8 Wayne Cunningham/CNET
Alfa Romeo had the 4C's carbon fiber tub on display at the auto show. This piece forms the cockpit for the two-seater and adds rigidity to the overall structure. Aluminum front and rear suspension pieces bolt on to the tub.
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8 of 8 Alfa Romeo
Along with drive mode buttons, the 4C will feature what Alfa Romeo calls the DNA selector, which includes Sport and Race settings. The car also appears to use an LCD instrument cluster.

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