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!

This delivery mileage, European-specification example is available with a complete set of factory accessories.