An Alfa Romeo triple in Beijing. From left to right: Alfa Romeo Spider, 4C, and a Giulia Quadrifoglio. I met these Italian sportsmachines at an Alfa Romeo dealer in Beijing.
Alfa has a bit of a difficult relation with China. Over the years, they have entered and then left the Chinese market several times, which has been extremely bad for the brand’s image.
And now they are back again, selling the Giulia en Stelvio. They seem to be serious, opening a lot of shops. In my area in Beijing alone there are three brand new dealers, which almost seems an overkill.
Is Alfa Romeo going to stay this time? Hard to say. Sales are promising but tiny compared to the competition. Biggest disadvantage is that they don’t have local production, which makes their cars extra expensive.
The owner of this dealer in Beijing is a true fan of the brand. He owns this Spider, the 4C, and a very sexy 159, which I will show you later. Staff told me the shop can maintain older cars, which is pretty rare in China.
The 916-Series Spider was made from 1993 until 2004. There was also a coupe version called the GTV. The most common engine was a 150 hp 2.0 liter four-cylinder 16V petrol engine, which is also under the bonnet here.
The Spider looked brilliant in light red with a black interior, standing in shiny alloys that appear to be a bit newer than the car.
The manic mid-engine Alfa Romeo 4C debuted in 2003. A hardcore racemachine with a carbon fiber tub and a screaming 1.7 liter turbocharged four. Output is 240 hp and 350 Nm. Sadly it was not officially sold in China, but some cars arrived via the gray market and other misty channels.
The Giulia Quadrifoglio is a proper supercar. Calling it just a ‘supersedan’ doesn’t do it enough justice. The 2.9 liter Ferrari V6 engine delivers a massive 510 hp and 600 Nm, good for 307 km/h and a 0-100 of 3.9 seconds.
All that speed does not come cheap; price of the Quadrifoglio starts at 949.800 yuan. Yup, that’s almost a million!
All in a different shade of Alfa red.
The 4C really is a small car, but looks bulky next to the tiny Spider. This particular 4C had been shipped in from the United States, note the orange reflectors in the fenders in front of the front wheels, and the U.S. market headlights.
Sticker on the fuel door, referring to the 4C’s questionable ‘lap record‘ on the Nurburgring in German. Which record did they brake? Well, the broke the “record for production cars with less than 247bhp”. I am sure my car can brake the Nurburgring record for “1998 China-made Jeep Cherokee XJ with less than 101 hp”. Easy!
But no matter the phony record. The 4C is an incredible beautiful car, and I would take it over the Spider almost every day. But not today. The air is blue in the capital, and very clean. It is just over 25 degrees Celsius. So I would take the Spider, open her up, and head for the mountains.
Dreaming…