At the beginning of the year we announced the renewal of the Alfa Romeo 4C , with statements by Roberto Fedeli, engineering director at Alfa Romeo and Maserati, in this regard: “We are returning to Formula 1 and we need the 4C to be our halo car.”
Fast forward to June 1, when the FCA group's strategy for the 2018-2022 period was made known to us, and in the expected products, no Alfa Romeo 4C.
In its place came something much more ambitious: a 700 hp hybrid super sports car, with a centrally located rear engine, carbon fiber cell — the same architecture as the 4C — marking the return of the 8C designation.
Umberto Palermo's vision
It is an interesting coincidence, that a few days after knowing that 4C will have, it seems, no future, we get to know the vision of what could be a new 4C, a result of the partnership between the Adler Group - which produces the carbon cell of the 4C — and Umberto Palermo Design.
The — take a deep breath — Alfa Romeo Mole Construction Artisan 001 it's a completely redesigned, unique model 4C, and could well be a chance to consider for a second-generation Italian sports car.
The overall proportions are clearly those of the 4C, despite a noticeably longer front — the Mole Construction Artisan 001 is around 30 cm longer and 6 cm wider. The “skin” couldn't be more different, where nothing seems to have been inherited from the 4C, revealing a much more aggressive design.
Inspired by Giulia Quadrifoglio
Visual aggressiveness that can be seen, above all, in the solutions found for the extremities, inspired, curiously, by the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio . Note, for example, the contour of the niche where the front optics are located, which is very close to what we can see in Giulia's optics.
It is also in this niche that we find one of the most original details of this unique model. The headlamps themselves occupy only a small part of the entire area, with the rest serving as an aerodynamic element, channeling the airflow towards the bonnet.
The rear uses a similar “graphic” solution, but the purpose of the openings in the niche dedicated to the optics becomes to remove hot air from the propeller. Similar objective to the solution found for the new rear engine cover, which evokes sports cars from other times, with pseudo-blind air vents. The Giulia Quadrifoglio inspiration is again visible in the design of the diffuser and integration of the four exhaust outlets — diagonally overlapped two by two.
The side starts to be marked by sharp edges, such as those passing through the top of the wheel arches, or in the contour of the “excavated” surface that ends at the small rear air intake. If in 4C the main air inlet for the engine is located immediately behind the door — intersecting the belt line —, in Mole Construction Artisan 001, it appears higher up, in the volume of the cabin, hidden in the B pillar.
The interior has also been modified, making it unrecognizable, with a much more careful choice of materials and colors, even luxurious, than what we can find in the Alfa Romeo 4C.
And the engine?
Mechanically, no changes were announced, so it is assumed that the Alfa Romeo Mole Construction Artisan 001 maintains the standard features of the 4C, ie the 1.75 Turbo and 240 hp, coupled to a six-speed dual-clutch gearbox.
Finally, there is a video — in Italian — from AutoMoto.it, where we can see the Mole Construction Artisan 001 in daylight and also Umberto Palermo's description of the design of the exclusive model (it's in Italian, but subtitles can be added automatic in Portuguese).