Do your tax returns routinely trigger DEFCON alerts at the IRS? Are your personal finances cited in biz-school case studies of the filthy rich? If so, please skip this story. This comparison test is for sports-car enthusiasts of somewhat lesser means—those with Moët tastes and, well, a Moët budget, once in a while, if the kids are already out of college.
After years of threatening a comeback and delivering a few 8C moon rocks, Alfa Romeo has resumed shipping cars to America. If images of star-crossed Milano sedans or Benjamin Braddock from The Graduate come to mind, you’re way overdue for a software upgrade. The Alfa 4C challenging Porsche’s second-generation Cayman in this test is a legit exotic with a base price barely above that of a Corvette Stingray.
In pitting this tantalizing newbie against the reigning authority in the affordable mid-engine sports-car class, we logged 650 miles, hot-lapped a challenging racecourse, and subjected the cars to a full work-up of performance tests. As always, our goal is to identify the better all-arounder, not the quicker quarter-mile sprinter or the superior track car.
For our real-world driving portion, we scouted fresh (to us) northeasternKentucky roads. This is coal country, where pickup-truck brands create tribal affiliations and rebel flags fly. To extract coal, mining companies simply blow the tops off Appalachian Plateau foothills. Laying pavement through this region also required deep cuts into mountainsides. We blitzed 66 miles of pristine Kentucky Route 32 between Morehead and Louisa, a dizzying mix of switchbacks and sweepers with more elevation changes than Six Flags’s Kingda Ka coaster. Traffic and enforcement were blissfully light.
The Cayman is the sports car that Dr. Porsche and his son first dreamed of building in 1939; two seats under a sleek roof, with the engine in the middle and the suspension cinched tight. In case you slept through physics class, a mid-engine layout enhances acceleration, braking, and handling dynamics with optimum tire loading and a low polar moment of inertia [“Location, Location,” July 2011].
A $53,595 Cayman starting price buys you an aluminum-intensive body, a 275-hp 2.7-liter flat-six, and 18-inch wheels and tires. Adding a $4690 infotainment package, $2320 power sport seats, $1790 adjustable dampers, $1560 19-inch wheels and tires, a $1320 brake-based torque-vectoring system, and a few other options bumped the Porsche’s as-tested price to $70,345.
The Alfa Romeo 4C is for all intents a cub Ferrari 458 Italia. Aping the blank-check mid-engined sports cars offered by Ferrari, Lamborghini, and McLaren, the 4C’s core is a carbon-fiber-composite tub that weighs only 235 pounds. A new 1.7-liter inline-four engine boasts aluminum-block-and-head construction, an over-square bore/stroke ratio, forged internal parts, and direct fuel injection. A BorgWarner turbo adds 21 psi of boost, and an intercooler dumps unwanted heat into the atmosphere. The 4C’s 237 horsepower doesn’t sound that impressive until you factor in its 2471-pound curb weight, a 609-pound advantage over the Cayman. Its wheelbase is shorter than the Porsche’s by 3.7 inches, with 14.9 less inches of overall length.
Adding nearly every available option inflated a $55,195 base 4C into our $68,495 test car. Extras included a $2750 leather package, a $2400 Track package, $3000 18- and 19-inch wheels with stickier summer tires, an $1800 Convenience package, $1000 red leather seats, a $500 racing exhaust, and $1850 for other nonessentials, such as a battery tender, bixenon headlamps, and Rosso Alfa paint. The only available transmission is a six-speed dual-clutch automatic.
Here’s what we learned when we put both cars in the ring.
Every 4C hop-in/drive-off event makes you feel as if you just roared away from the start of the 24 Hours of Spa. You’ve got an 11-inch-wide sill to negotiate, pedals that hinge from the floor, and the car’s aluminum-and-carbon-fiber construction proudly on display. The unmuffled four has a raucous idle. Once up and running, it pops and farts during shifts, whines from the turbo, and impolitely sneezes following abrupt throttle lifts. We found no hint of insulation against noise or heat in this car.
As with any racer, there is some pain to endure. A brutal ride, a shoulder belt chafing your neck, visors that won’t swing to the side, no armrests, and a bucket-seat bottom that requires tools to adjust height and angle are among the 4C’s hostilities. Without steering assist, parking maneuvers are a workout, and if you like to use the radio, note that the Alfa’s reception and sound quality are abysmal. Things you might use once in awhile, such as the cruise-control switch and headlamp high-beam indicator, are hidden behind the steering wheel.
Top left: Steering-wheel stitching is a thumb-skin zester.
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On the road, cabin noise is so high that you reflexively check for an open window and click the upshift paddle hoping for a higher gear. The 4C feels like Alfa dusted off a competition machine, added leather and air conditioning, and dispatched its warrior to the street. Some of you might call that the definition of perfection.
And there is indeed ample joy to offset any hardship. The combination of a hellbent engine, aggressive launch control, the dual-clutch automatic’s snappy power shifts, and modest weight spanks the Porsche Cayman by more than a second to 60 mph (4.1 seconds) and through the quarter-mile (12.8 seconds at 107 mph). The acceleration is strong enough to make C7 Corvette drivers nervous. The 4C is also an accomplished stopper, with a firm pedal and no fade. The 70-to-zero braking distance of 144 feet falls four feet shorter than the Cayman’s. Even though it’s a touch less grippy on the skidpad, the 4C pirouetted through the slalom cones with grace and earned pole position around Grattan Raceway’s 12-turn road course. On the rare instance this Alfa slid its tail, the nose joined the fun in a classic four-wheel drift.
Concentric tailpipes mean a 4C with the muffler-free exhaust.
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On Kentucky’s Route 32, we loved the Alfa’s unassisted steering and tenacious grip as much as we hated its tendency to self-steer over bumps and cambered pavement. The run-up to understeer at the adhesion limit is nicely predictable except for those moments when the boost kicks in and you and the chassis are surprised by a wallop of torque. Snacks and beverages are forbidden in this sports car because both hands—three if you had ’em—are essential for maintaining the desired line. A long stint of gripping the Alfa’s steering-wheel stitches leaves hands red and numb.
On the freeway, left-lane slowmos dive out of the way when a Rosso Alfa speck swells in their mirrors. The scoops and swoops adorning the 4C are so gorgeous that any cut would surely seep Ferrari blood.
This Alfa is essentially a track car with holes for license plates. The harder you whip it, the more composed it feels. But it’s been yanked from the autoclave before it was fully baked. The 4C will enthrall its owner a few times a month and then inflict suffering if pressed into daily service. Wouldn’t it be lovely if Alfa finished what it’s started with a more polished 5C?
Never mind their mid-engine, two-seat commonalities, the Alfa and the Porsche are polar opposites. The 4C is feisty and rambunctious, the Cayman always reserved. One is an Italian Viper, the other a German aristocrat. Even though the uncouth child pipped the fully matured sports car in most of our objective measurements—acceleration, braking, track speed, even fuel mileage—at the end of the day, we’d spend our $70K on the Cayman.
The Porsche’s flat-six, stick-shift powertrain is old school, at least versus the 4C’s, with high power and torque peaks. At 6000 revs, when it’s time to think about clicking the next gear in the turbo 4C, the Cayman’s free-breathing six crescendos with a clean, clear wail. There’s another 1600 rpm of motor music left to enjoy in the Porsche before pushing the shifter at redline for the next ascent. The Cayman syncs into hand, foot, and eye coordination as if its levers and pedals were mutant growths from the driver’s body. The controls are low-friction and perfectly weighted, and each movement delivers satisfying feedback.
Everything in the Porsche is honed, and it reeks of refinement. The 14-way power seats provide excellent lumbar support for long drives, and the thigh restraint is superior to the 4C’s on the track. The $1780 Premium package’s leather trim is cowhide raised to couture. Unlike in the 4C, the 360-degree visibility you’ll need for spotting officers at felonious velocities comes standard.
Even though it’s electrically assisted, the Cayman’s steering clearly communicates the tire and road information essential for venturing beyond 1.0 g. The Cayman is larger and heavier, yet it beats the 4C’s traction on the skidpad with superior balance and matches the Alfa’s agility in our slalom test. The dampers curb motion so meticulously that you can focus on dialing in the right amount of steering instead of fretting over body pitch and roll. At Grattan, the Porsche lapped a touch slower than the Alfa but with a higher level of confidence and control.
The Alfa 4C is a toy. It’s a raucously fun and adorable toy, but a toy nonetheless. The Porsche Cayman is a real car—a really great car.
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Moving from track to street, the Cayman goes with the flow. Its two cargo holds, astute nav system, in-dash cup holders, and interior storage slots provide welcome flexibility on drives ranging from daily commutes to cross-country trips.
Even though the Cayman lost key points to the plucky 4C, it won the overall competition by a mile. The 4C’s saving grace is that, with its carbon-fiber tub, it’s the first sports car to bring truly exotic technology within reach of still-working stiffs. And for that, Alfa, we say, mille grazie.
| Vehicle | 2015 Alfa Romeo 4C | 2014 Porsche Cayman | ||
| Base Price | $55,195 | $53,595 | ||
| Price as Tested | $68,495 | $70,345 | ||
| Dimensions | ||||
| Length | 157.5 inches | 172.4 inches | ||
| Width | 73.5 inches | 70.9 inches | ||
| Height | 46.6 inches | 50.9 inches | ||
| Wheelbase | 93.7 inches | 97.4 inches | ||
| Front Track | 64.5 inches | 60.1 inches | ||
| Rear Track | 63.1 inches | 60.5 inches | ||
| Interior Volume | 47 cubic feet | 50 cubic feet | ||
| Cargo | 4 cubic feet | 15 cubic feet | ||
| Powertrain | ||||
| Engine | turbocharged DOHC 16-valve inline-4 106 cu in (1742 cc) | DOHC 24-valve flat-6 165 cu in (2706 cc) | ||
| Power HP @ RPM | 237 @ 6000 | 275 @ 7400 | ||
| Torque LB-FT @ RPM | 258 @ 2200 | 213 @ 4500 | ||
| Redline / Fuel Cutoff | 6500/6500 rpm | 7600/7600 rpm | ||
| LB Per HP | 10.4 | 11.2 | ||
| Driveline | ||||
| Transmission | 6-speed dual-clutch automatic | 6-speed manual | ||
| Driven Wheels | rear | rear | ||
| Gear Ratio:1/ MPH Per 1000 RPM/ Max MPH |  4.15/4.3/28 2.27/7.9/51 1.44/12.5/81 0.98/18.3/119 0.76/23.7/154 0.62/28.7/159 | 3.67/5.5/42 2.05/9.9/75 1.46/13.9/106 1.13/18.0/136 0.97/20.9/159 0.84/24.2/165 | ||
| Axle Ratio:1 | 4.12 | 3.89 | ||
| Chassis | ||||
| Suspension | F: control arms, coil springs, anti-roll bar R: struts, coil springs, anti-roll bar | F: struts, coil springs, anti-roll bar R: struts, coil springs, anti-roll bar | ||
| Brakes | F: 12.0-inch vented, cross-drilled disc R: 11.5-inch vented, cross-drilled disc | F: 12.4-inch vented, cross-drilled disc R: 11.8-inch vented, cross-drilled disc | ||
| Stability Control | partially and fully defeatable, launch control | fully defeatable | ||
| Tires | Pirelli P Zero F: 205/40ZR-18 86Y R: 235/35ZR-19 91Y | Pirelli P Zero F: 235/40ZR-19 (92Y) R: 265/40ZR-19 (98Y) | ||
| C/D Test Results | ||||
| Acceleration | ||||
| 0–30 MPH | 1.5 sec | 1.9 sec | ||
| 0–60 MPH | 4.1 sec | 5.3 sec | ||
| 0–100 MPH | 10.7 sec | 12.9 sec | ||
| 0–130 MPH | 23.1 sec | 23.7 sec | ||
| ¼-Mile @ MPH | 12.8 sec @ 107 | 13.9 sec @ 103 | ||
| Rolling Start, 5–60 MPH | 5.1 sec | 6.2 sec | ||
| Top Gear, 30–50 MPH | 2.9 sec | 8.5 sec | ||
| Top Gear, 50–70 MPH | 4.2 sec | 7.5 sec | ||
| Top Speed | 159 mph (drag ltd) | 165 mph (drag ltd) | ||
| Chassis | ||||
| Braking 70–0 MPH | 144 feet | 148 feet | ||
| Roadholding, 300-ft-dia Skidpad | 1.00 g | 1.03 g | ||
| 610-ft Slalom | 45.3 mph | 45.3 mph | ||
| 2.0-Mile Road Course Lap Time, Min:Sec | 1:31.5 | 1:31.9 | ||
| Weight | ||||
| Curb | 2471 pounds | 3080 pounds | ||
| %Front/%Rear | 41.1/58.9 | 45.1/54.9 | ||
| CG Height | 19.5 inches | 19.5 inches | ||
| Fuel | ||||
| Tank | 10.5 gallons | 16.9 gallons | ||
| Rating | 91 octane | 93 octane | ||
| EPA City/Hwy | 24/34 mpg | 21/30 mpg | ||
| C/D 650-Mile Trip | 24 mpg | 21 mpg | ||
| Sound Level | ||||
| Idle | 56 dBA | 49 dBA | ||
| Full Throttle | 84 dBA | 89 dBA | ||
| 70-MPH Cruise | 78 dBA | 74 dBA | ||
tested in Chelsea, Michigan, by Don Sherman and Eric Tingwall | ||||
| Final Results | ||||
| Vehicle |
Rank
Max Pts. Available |
1
2014 Porsche Cayman |
2
2015 Alfa Romeo 4C | |
| Driver Comfort | 10 | 10 | 5 | |
| Ergonomics | 10 | 10 | 5 | |
| Cargo Space* | 5 | 5 | 1 | |
| Features/Amenities* | 10 | 10 | 1 | |
| Fit and Finish | 10 | 9 | 7 | |
| Interior Styling | 10 | 9 | 6 | |
| Exterior Styling | 10 | 7 | 10 | |
| Rebates/Extras* | 5 | 0 | 0 | |
| As-tested Price* | 20 | 19 | 20 | |
| Subtotal | 90 | 79 | 55 | |
| Powertrain | ||||
| 1/4-mile Acceleration* | 20 | 15 | 20 | |
| Flexibility* | 5 | 3 | 3 | |
| Fuel Economy* | 10 | 7 | 10 | |
| Engine NVH | 10 | 9 | 4 | |
| Transmission | 10 | 9 | 6 | |
| Subtotal | 55 | 43 | 43 | |
| Chassis | ||||
| Performance* | 20 | 20 | 19 | |
| Steering Feel | 10 | 8 | 7 | |
| Brake Feel | 10 | 7 | 9 | |
| Handling | 10 | 10 | 9 | |
| Ride | 10 | 10 | 6 | |
| Subtotal | 60 | 55 | 50 | |
| Experience | ||||
| Fun to Drive | 25 | 24 | 19 | |
| Grand Total | 230 | 201 | 167 | |
Source: caranddriver.com
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