10 Reasons the 2016 Alfa Romeo 4C Wins Autoweb Buyer's Choice Best Sports Car Award

2016 Alfa Romeo 4C exterior front angle ・ Photo by Alfa Romeo

Dramatic Italian design, along with equally dramatic performance numbers, has helped the 2016 Alfa Romeo 4C earn the 2017 Autoweb Buyer's Choice Best Sports Car Award. The lightweight 4C has almost everything else you could want in an exotic import, including a standard mid-engine design and available upgrade packages.

10) Turbocharged Engine

Thanks to its advanced, lightweight construction, the 2016 Alfa Romeo 4C doesn’t need a massive engine for impressive performance. Instead, it relies on a turbocharged 1.75-liter 4-cylinder engine with high-pressure direct injection and multi-hole fuel injectors. With 237 horsepower and 258 lb.-ft. of torque, the 4C is plenty quick, and it gets 34 mpg on the highway.

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9) Optional Track Package

All 2016 Alfa Romeo 4C models leverage a long history of racing success. Yet for serious enthusiasts, the brand boasts a dedicated Track Package, which bundles high-performance shocks, a flat-bottom racing-style steering wheel, a carbon-fiber rear spoiler, and more. Optional for the package are Pirelli P Zero tires and leather-covered performance seats.

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8) Performance Exhaust

Even the exhaust systems for the 2016 Alfa Romeo 4C are good-looking and good for enhanced performance. Consider the optional dual-mode setup designed in cooperation with Akrapovic, a top name in exhaust systems for racers: Among its benefits is a special resonator that fine tunes the engine’s aggressive growl.

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7) Carbon Fiber Inside and Out

Carbon fiber is key to the performance of the 2016 Alfa Romeo 4C. Indeed, the lightweight but stiff material was used extensively in the body structure of the car, for a curb weight of less than 2500 lb. Want more carbon?  Alfa also offers a carbon-fiber trim package to dress up the 4C's cockpit.

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6): High-Fashion Cabin

Driver-centric and filled with luxurious details, the cockpit of the 2016 Alfa Romeo 4C has a fresh, bespoke look. Premium leather abounds, with seats done in Tobacco and Black and the rest of the cabin wearing Black with Tobacco stitching.

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5) Premium Audio

The 2016 Alfa Romeo 4C now has a standard high-performance sound system to match its high-performance powertrain, compliments of the audio experts at Alpine. Owners can count on crystal-clear sound from that setup, which is augmented by a standard USB port, HD Radio, SiriusXM Satellite Radio, and Bluetooth connectivity for handsfree calling and audio streaming.

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4) The 4C Spider

Just when you thought the 2016 Alfa Romeo 4C couldn’t get any better, along came a Spider. That’s the name for the 4C convertible, a car that serves up all the features of the coupe but has a removable cloth top—or a carbon-fiber roof panel—for a thrilling open-air driving experience.

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3) Sleek Supercar Styling

The 2016 Alfa Romeo 4C shows off its athletic promise with a stunning exterior, highlighted by a vented glass deck lid designed to display—and provide extra cooling for—the car’s potent turbocharged engine. The 4C has an extra slippery shape, and buyers can choose among eight wild wheel designs.

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2) Athletic DNA

Using an “Alfa DNA” drive-mode selector, owners of the 2016 Alfa Romeo 4C can tailor the performance of this mid-engine Italian sports with four dedicated settings: Dynamic, Race, Natural, and All-Weather. Notably, this technology adjusts the car’s sophisticated twin-clutch transmission, electronic differential, electronic stability control, and engine performance.

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1) The Need for Speed

Inspired by cutting-edge Formula 1 race cars and classic Alfa Romeos of the past, the 2016 4C is lightning quick, with an ability to hit 60 mph in a mere 4.1 seconds. If you keep the pedal to the metal a bit longer, the 4C will hit a top speed of 160 mph.

Read about the 17 Most Wanted Vehicles of 2016 for the full list of the 2017 Autobytel Car Buyer's Choice Award recipients.

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