Created by Petrolheads, for Petrolheads

So it has been a few years since I have had the heart to post on this blog. Sadly I lost a business back at the end of 2012, this had a profound effect on both my professional life and my personal life. Refusing to let the actions of certain individuals beat me I have rebuilt the business (which is now better, stronger and more successful), overcome a mental breakdown and rebuilt both myself esteem and self belief. As part of that process I managed to scrap together the deposit for a Alfa 4C, not really knowing if I was going to be able to go through with the purchase, this acted as a beacon and drove me on. I also have to thank my good friend Brian for being so understanding when we had to sell the Lotus Elise we co-owned as I needed every penny I could get to survive in those dark moments. Finally I feel that the time has come to pick up the story and see if I did manage to get my hands on that Alfa…

First sight of the car, but not quite in the spec I had ordered. After waiting two years and some very odd dealings with Alfa (who do need to sort out their customer service) I have finally ended up a with a Alfa Red example with full leather, carbon fibre pack and sports pack. So more or less everything I wanted except the faired in headlights which have not been made available for a UK coupe. To be honest the carbon fibre ones look very trick in real life!

Thanks to US firm ALFA9 I have managed to find a solution to fixing a number plate to the front of the car as I had no desire to drill holes into that gorgeous composite bodywork! The fix utilizes the tow hook eyelet and works a treat. It might not be full size, but something is better than nothing.

Caught as the sun comes up!

One of my three bug bears has finally been sorted and it involves the wheels being set to far into the wheel arches. So 20mm spacers have been added to the back, and 16mm to the front. Here are some before and after pictures.

Back

Front

My second bug bear was the original silver double ring race exhaust tips. So I had them cut off and a set of carbon fibre 10cm diameter Quicksilver tips grafted on. For me it finishes the backend off perfectly, and adds an element of aggression to go with all that lovely noise.

My third and final bug bear was with the very twitchy front end. Straight out the box the car loved to trameline and then every so often decide to launch you towards the bushes. Not very predictable and tad unsettling at high speed! Jamie Potter of Alfaworks has found the solution by working with Lotus they have developed a set of 8 modified wishbone spacers that changed the camber and castor and together with new toe settings transformed the handling beyond believe. I highly recommend this fix to every 4C owner. To find out more go to: http://live.alfaworkshop.co.uk/synergy/4C.php#lastPage1/5