ALFA ROMEO 4C NAMED “CONTINTENTAL IRISH SPORTS / PERFORMANCE CAR OF THE YEAR 2015” BY THE IRISH MOTORING WRITERS’ ASSOCIATION

The Alfa Romeo 4C has been named 'Continental Irish Sports / Performance Car of the Year 2015' by the Irish Motoring Writers' Association at its annual award ceremony which was held at the Marker Hotel in Dublin's buzzing Docklands district in Friday, 28 November 2014.

Launched to the Irish motoring media at Mondello Park in Kildare in the spring, the Alfa Romeo 4C press demonstrator remained in Ireland for the summer months, immediately following its appearance at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, to allow each jury member to sample its remarkable dynamic abilities for themselves. Its stunning Italian styling, advanced level of engineering and impressive agility and performance ensured that the Alfa Romeo 4C not only earned rave reviews from the jury members of the Irish Motoring Writers' Association in their motoring columns, it also saw off strong competition from an impressive field of rivals to claim the Continental Irish Sports / Performance Car of the Year 2015 title.

Designed and engineered by Alfa Romeo and built at the Maserati plant in Modena, the mid-engined Alfa Romeo 4C employs a carbon-fibre monocoque to increase chassis rigidity and reduce vehicle weight to just 895kg resulting in astonishing handling characteristics capable of generating up to 1.1g of lateral acceleration and more than 1.2g of deceleration force. By combining an all-aluminium, 240hp 1750 Turbo Petrol engine with the latest-generation "Alfa TCT" dry twin clutch transmission, the Alfa Romeo 4C can not only accelerate to 100km/h in just 4.5 seconds and top 259km/h, its official combined-cycle fuel economy figure is just 6.8L/100km and its CO2 emissions are 157g/km, resulting in low fuel and road tax bills.

Despite the wealth of technology built into the Alfa Romeo 4C its most impressive attribute is its €69,900 price tag, considered something of a bargain by the IMWA jury members.

Established in 1978, the Irish Car and Van of the Year Awards are presided over by IMWA, which has amongst its ranks some of the most experienced and well-respected motoring writers in Ireland. Vehicles are judged on a wide variety of criteria to assess their suitability for the unique Irish market, including the use of new technologies, safety, equipment, value for money, environmental impact, quality, performance and, of course, driver satisfaction.

IMWA Chairperson Austin Shinnors said, "The Alfa Romeo 4C is a very worthy winner of the Continental Irish Sports / Performance Car of the Year 2015. An exciting car aesthetically and dynamically - it is a real thoroughbred Italian sports car in every way."

Gerry Clarke, Country Director FIAT Group Automobiles Ireland, commented: "The reception the Alfa Romeo 4C has received in Ireland has been nothing short of phenomenal, winning practically every Performance Car category award it has been eligible for. The critical success of the Alfa Romeo 4C also speaks volumes about resurgence of the brand, which is set to continue into 2015 and beyond, with eight new models planned by the end of 2018!"

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Photo Caption: Left to Right: Tom Dennigan, Continental Tyres Ireland, Gerry Clarke, Country Director, FIAT Group Automobiles and Austin Shinnors, Chairman of the IMWA