[Updated: 2011-03-01] – The rumors of Alfa Romeo presenting a small sportscar concept at the Geneva Motor Show keep growing stronger. Here is a track back through the news snippets of what started as a rumor of an Abarth coupe through to an Alfa concept which now is rumored to go into production in 2012.

Price rumors (Euros):
Alfa
2011-02-28 – €45.000 – ANE
2011-02-02 – €40.000 – ANE
2011-01-03 – €50.000 – auto.blog.rs
Abarth
2010-07-26 – €50.000 to €60.000 – Auto Express

Production rumors:
Alfa
2011-02-28 – 15.000 to 20.000 over 5 years (+ 5.000 to 10.000 Abarths) – ANE
2011-02-02 – 20.000 to 25.000 over 5 years – ANE
Abarth
2010-07-25 – 2.000 – Auto Express

The Alfa Romeo 4C Concept presentation

• Alfa Romeo 4C Concept is now available as a nice 1:43 model
• 2011-03-01 – Bilmagasinet – That’s what an Alfa should look like! (video)
  







• 2011-03-01 – Alfa Romeo press release: World Premiere: the Alfa Romeo 4C Concept
  Alfa Romeo has sent out the first press release confirming the Alfa 4C Concept at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, along with 3 pictures of the car. 

  At the 81st Geneva International Motor Show, the Alfa Romeo 4C Concept will make its debut, a compact “supercar” which represents the true essence of a sports car, according to the brand’s values: performance, Italian style and technical excellence aimed at maximum driving pleasure in total safety.

  The press release goes on to confirm that the 4C Concept is a carbon fiber construction with the FPT 1750 TBi engine, here quoted as having “over 200 HP”, combined with the “Alfa TCT” twin dry clutch transmission. The weight is also quoted as being under 850 kg.

  Possibly the most interesting part of the press release is at the bottom:

  This car is not simply an exercise in style created for the Motor Show; it will be on sale in 2012 and is set to reinforce Alfa Romeo’s global growth.





• 2011-03-01 – Alfa Romeo 4c Concept on stage in Geneva
  Thanks to kappa amstadam on the Italiaspeed forum, we now have pictures of the Alfa Romeo 4C Concept under covers on the stage at the Geneva Motor Show.

The Alfa Romeo rumors:

• 2011-02-28 – Alfa Romeo Ireland (Facebook) – Picture the lovechild of an Alfa 8C Competizione and a small, lightweight British sportscar
  The Facebook page of Alfa Romeo Ireland has once more been updated: 

  We’ve had a peek under the covers at the new Alfa concept and, unsurprisingly, the mid-engined beast does not disappoint. Picture the lovechild of an Alfa 8C Competizione and a small, lightweight British sportscar and you won’t go far wrong. We’ll have pictures very very soon so keep your eyes peeled…

  .. and it continues ..

  We’ve great news for potential Irish customers: proper weather protection and everyday usability are part of the package. There’s even more good news for performance enthusiasts at Geneva, but for that you’ll have to check out the Fiat stand…. Fiat has re-kindled its relationship with a long-time coachbuilder friend to produce a surprise concept. Tune in tomorrow morning for more details of both remarkable cars!



• 2011-02-28 – Automotive News Europe – Alfa 4C concept draws inspiration from legendary Stradale
  The clearest version yet of the photoshop that is now confirmed as originating from Italian magazine Quattrotuote, has been posted in ANE’s latest article about the Alfa 4C. They claim that the photoshop closely matches the in-house styled concept that’ll appear on Alfa Romeos stand at the Geneva Motor Show tomorrow (Tuesday).
  ANE also repports that the 4C will enter production late next year, possibly at Mirafiori, and be priced at about €45.000. The plan should be to build 15.000 to 20.000 4C’s during a 5 year production run, with another 5.000 to 10.000 cars build as a Spider version for Abarth.
  Alfa Romeo are according to ANE targeting a curb weight of just 850 kg for the 4C, which combined with a 250 hp version of the FPT 1750 TBi which should give it better power to weight ration than the Porsche Cayman S.



• 2011-02-25 – Better quality magazine scan
  We are now seeing a better version of the magazine scan that appeared online earlier today.
• 2011-02-25 – Alfa Romeo Ireland (Facebook) – Our new concept car is SUPER!
  Alfa Romeo Ireland continues to put out bits of info: 

  Our new concept car is SUPER! So why not call it a “super car”?! Wait until you hear this- it’s a socially responsible supercar!! No more big V8s like you’d find in the 8C. It uses a four cylinder turbo engine + low kerb-weight to achieve the same levels of performance as the 8C but with perhaps considerably lower fuel consumption + emissions. You can theorise your own name for our new supercar from all that.

  .. and it continues ..

  The engine is familiar to hardcore Alfisti but the carbon fibre chassis is new and helps us achieve a total kerb-weight that makes a Fiat 500 look a bit porky. This is a new Alfa Romeo the likes of which we’ve never seen.

  What is taking 2012 so long to get here?



• 2011-02-25 – Picture surfaces – “4C Dream Alfa”
  A picture of a magazine (Quattroruote?) showing what appears to be a picture of the Alfa 4C concept turns up online. The article is titled “4C, Il Sogno Alfa” / “4C, Dream Alfa”.
• 2011-02-24 – Alfa Romeo Ireland (Facebook) – NEW CONCEPT CAR
  The Facebook page of Alfa Romeo Ireland confirms that Alfa Romeo will present a new concept car at the Geneva Motor Show next week: 

  Alfa Romeo is returning to its roots with a NEW CONCEPT CAR, which will be unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show next week. Alfa Romeo made its name building successful race cars that were lightweight, powerful and technically advanced and this new concept car revives that original philosophy in some style!!

  Want to know more??

  .. and it continues ..

  We can’t tell you too much just yet, but if you show that you’re interested we might reveal a little more every day until the car is finally uncovered…

  We’re NOT talking about a special edition model with nice alloys and new badges, and we’re definitely not wasting your time with some pie-in-the-sky concept car that will never make it to production. This is an all-new and exciting car that will create more of a stir than the stunning 8C Competizione!!! If you want to know more help us turn a few more people into Alfa Romeo fans by spreading the word.

  The Geneva Motor Show opens for the public on March the 3th (Wednesday next week), but is open for the press a couple of days earlier, so we can expect official photos of the concept early next week.

• 2011-02-23 – Automotive News Europe – Automakers bounce back from recession with Geneva product fireworks
  ANE now includes the Alfa 4C GTA in their lineup for the Geneva Motor Show. 

  Alfa plans to unveil a rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive coupe. The lightweight two-seat model is to go on sale as the 4C GTA in Europe in late 2012, delighting Alfa enthusiasts who have dreamed of an affordable rwd Alfa since the Duetto Spider was discontinued in 1994. Alfa sources said the 4C GTA could be sold in the United States, but no decision has been made.

• 2011-02-18 – Omniauto.it – Abarth e Alfa, due sorprese a Ginevra [Translated: Abarth and Alfa, two surprises in Geneva]
  Rumor that Alfa Romeo will show the 4C (a 235 hp coupé) and Abarth will show an “Abarth 1000” (a 190 hp Spider), both based on the Dallara KTM X-Bow carbonfiber chassis with the FPT 1750 TBi. Omniauto suggest that there could be a 210 hp version of the Abarth for the North American market, badged as Abarth or Mopar Dodge
• 2011-02-17 – Carscoop – Duped: Alleged Spy Video of Alfa Romeo 4C an MPCARDESIGN Project
  The “spy video” from the 11th turned out to be fake after all.



• 2011-02-15 – Auto.it – Alfa 4C, I Segreti Del Gioiello Del Biscione [Translated: ALFA 4C, The Secrets Of The Jewel Of The Alfa]
  Auto.it has a new photoshop and are repporting that the styling will take ques from the Giulietta Spider and Sprint. They predict that it’ll enter production in 2012 and that there’ll also be a Spider version and possibly an Abarth.
• 2011-02-15 – autoevolution – 2011 Geneva: Alfa Romeo 4C Concept Will Definitely Be There!
  Quoting “Auto magazine” that the 4C GTA will be at Geneva, it’s just being kept secret until the event.
• 2011-02-14 – Alfa Romeo Press – Alfa Romeo at the 81st Geneva International Motor Show
  Alfa Romeos press release for the Geneva motor show doesn’t mention the 4C GTA concept, only a new colour for the MiTo and the TCT transmission for the Giulietta.
• 2011-02-11 – Autojunk.nl – Video: Alfa Romeo 4C GTA spyvid
  Apparently a spy video of the 4C GTA concept (coupé and spider) has surfaced on Autojunk.nl, it does however look more like a computer rendered video than something recorded in real life. So it’s either fake or a viral video from Alfa Romeo.
• 2011-02-04 – Autoblog – Report: Dallara to build X-Bow-based Alfa Romeo 4C GTA
• 2011-02-03 – Italiaspeed – Alfa Romeo prepares new lightweight showcar for Geneva
• 2011-02-02 – Quattroruote – LA 4C PER SAN VALENTINO [Translated: 4C FOR THE VALENTINE]
  A recap of the ANE article, with the additional info that we could see a preview on February 14th (Valentines day).



• 2011-02-02 – Automotive News Europe – Alfa Romeo plans ‘affordable’ halo car
  ANE reporting that the 4C GTA will be based on Dallaras chassis from the KTM X-Bow, incorporating aluminium subframes at the front and back and a 250 HP version of the FPT 1750 TBi engine.
• 2011-01-28 – Autovise.nl – Geen rebadge-model van Alfa Romeo [Translated: No rebadge model Alfa Romeo]
  Autovise apparently have the 4c confirmed for Geneva by sales manager Andrea Formica.
• 2011-01-25 – Auto Express – Alfa Romeo two-seater for Geneva
• 2011-01-25 – Teaser pictures appear on other sites
  WorldCarFans, autoblog.gr and GT spirit all pick up on the pictures posted on auto.blog.rs 2011-01-03.
• 2011-01-24 – autoevolution – Alfa Romeo 4C Concept Coming to Geneva





• 2011-01-03 – auto.blog.rs – Alfa Romeo 4C Concept na Salonu u Ženevi (dopunjeno) [Translated:Alfa Romeo 4C Concept at Geneva Motor Show (revised)]
  Auto.blog.rs post what’s apparently the first teaser pictures of the 4C concept, they later update the article with a new name “Alfa Romeo 1750SS” though none of the other sites seemed to pick up on that.
  The pictures show a front end with inspiration from the Alfa Romeo Junior Zagato (1969 – 1976) and the Bertone concept from 2010, Alfa Romeo Pandion. The rear end teaser has some similarity to the Alfetta GT (1974 – 1987) and Alfasud Sprint (1976 – 1989). The pictures haven’t been confirmed to be real, we’ll have to wait until the official unveiling, presumably at the Geneva motorshow.

The Abarth rumors:

• 2010-07-26 – Auto Express – Abarth X-Bow has Exige in sights
  Coupé based on the KTM X-Bow, with a FPT 1.8 MultiAir turbo engine with “over 200 hp”. Speculation of a one-off production run of 2000 cars, or maybe a limited series production over 2 to 3 years. Price estimate between €50.000 and €60.000