Virtually a carbon copy of the concept that stunned crowds at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, the gorgeous 4C Spider is the mid-engined exotic sports car that proved Alfa Romeo still knows how to make a brilliant, emotional driving experience.

But this is no retro throwback. Don’t look for hooded dials or a manual gearbox. What you’ll get instead is a high tech, super-stiff carbon fibre monocoque – not unlike what you’d expect from a McLaren – and an almost fanatical attention to weight saving which means this ultralight tips the scales at just 895kg dry, and a mere 920kg wet. Such an astonishingly low kerb weight means the 4C is gifted with telepathic handling, authoritative braking and brilliant unfiltered steering.

The snarling engine is no slouch either: a 1.75-litre turbo four cylinder producing 237bhp and 258lb ft of torque – easily enough to propel this pint-sized street fighter to 100kph in a mere 4.5 seconds, and onto to a top speed of 260kph. All this performance reaches the rear wheels via a lightning-fast six-speed dual clutch gearbox – which in its fastest ‘Race’ mode, can shift in a mere 130ms. That’s faster than most people can blink!

Tomini Classics is proud to present the ultimate 4C: the 33 Stradale Tributo, one of 98 pieces created to commemorate the end of 4C production: 23 for USA, 10 for Canada, one special allocation to an FCA executive, 15 for Australia, and 50 for Japan. Loaded with every option imaginable in the 4C as standard, the Stradale Tributo was also offered as a coupe in the Australian and Japanese markets —the latter being the case with our car. With only 3,000km covered since new, this immaculate 4C stands to date as our unquestionably best one —out of twenty-two sold, to be exact.