Alfa’s 4C Spider is sexy arachnid

It was pretty much a dead cert that Alfa Romeo was going to launch a convertible version of the 4C sports car at Geneva but we hadn't expecting it to be quite so pretty. Making the hard-top 4C prettier is a a massive challenge, but Alfa really has pulled it off with the 4C Spider. The roof is a soft-top, rather than a hefty folding hard top, and that has kept the weight penalty down to just 60kg. Better still, the new sleeker light units really lift the look of the front of the car, and are much nicer to look at than the rather cheap and nasty multi-element lights seen on the coupe.

All of the supporting structure for the roof, the rolllover hoops and the windscreen surround are the same light-but-strong carbon fibre as the rest of the car, while the compact titanium and carbon exhaust system has been tweaked by MotoGP and superbike specialist Akrapovic to make it sound even rortier when the roof is down.

The 1,750cc turbo four-cylinder engine is unchanged and Alfa says that it takes the same 4.5secs to get from 0-100kmh. The new headlights, along with the milled and painted alloy wheels, will also most likely migrate to the coupe 4C but Alfa isn’t confirming that for now. Sales start in early 2015 and, judging by the way the coupe sold out, you’d better get your order in now.