Alfa Romeo 4C to cost more than Porsche Cayman, Audi S5 in UK

Alfa Romeo UK announced a £45,000 ($76,500) price tag for its new rear-wheel-drive sports coupe, making it more than £5000 dearer than the Cayman ($67,500) and roughly £1600 more than the S5 coupe ($73,800).

While in Australia the entry-level 202kW/290Nm Porsche Cayman costs $107,100 and the 245kW/440Nm Audi S5 coupe $135,400, the Alfa Romeo 4C is expected to be positioned in a more affordable bracket.

At March’s Geneva motor show, Alfa Romeo parent company Fiat Chrysler Australia suggested it was targeting a sub-$80,000 price tag for the turbocharged 180kW/350Nm 1.8-litre four-cylinder sports car.

Fiat Chrysler Australia director of corporate communications Karla Leach today confirmed it now expects the 4C to cost somewhere between $80,000 and $100,000 when it arrives locally in the second quarter of 2014.

Leach says pricing will be dictated by currency fluctuations, but say the Italian brand is “hoping for the lower end of that range” when it finalises prices and specifications closer to launch.

The Alfa Romeo 4C is being built in a limited production run of 3500 cars at Maserati’s plant in Modena, Italy.

Weighing in at 895kg, the 3989mm-long 4C two-door sprints from 0-100km/h in 4.5 seconds (1.2sec quicker than the Porsche and four-tenths sharper than the Audi) and powers on to a top speed of 257km/h.

Leach says Fiat Chrysler Australia is hoping to offer both the standard 4C and the special ‘Launch Edition’ variant – which gets extra elements like carbonfibre trim – when the car reaches showrooms next year.