Photo: Pogea Racing
The Alfa Romeo 4C has been with us for many years and never got the performance version that was promised. However, we doubt it would ever come close to the level of lunacy displayed by this Pogea Racing tuning project.
The company is known for taking Italian cars to the next level, making the Abarth even more uncompromising or adding a touch of luxury. They've played with the 4C before too, but extracting 500 horsepower couldn't have been an easy task.
Usually, the 1.75-liter turbocharged engine makes 240 horsepower. And that's enough for a less-than-one-ton sports car with a carbon tub. But it doesn't grab headlines, which is why Pogea had to stroke the engine and made it into a 1.95-liter.
Why they couldn't make it a full two liters is beyond us, but from such a small displacement, the four-cylinder mill is now producing 477 horsepower. Torque has also been increased from 258 pound-feet (350 Nm) to 395 lb-ft (535 Newton-meters). How the dry-clutch gearbox handles it is beyond us.
Using this new-found grunt, the 2-seater delivers supercar-like performance with a 0 to 100 km/h time of 3.6 seconds (the standard one does it in 4.5s) and a top speed of 308 km/h (191 mph) instead of just 258 km/h (160mph). Frankly, I would never go that fast in a car without power steering, but some people like to live on the edge.
The tuner has also redesigned some of the bodywork to give the car more downforce. That gigantic rear wing combined with the Lotus-like body reminds us of the Hennessey Venom GT. The 4C's front fascia also received an aero upgrade with carbon fiber being the material of choice. The engine deck was our favorite piece until we saw the interior.
It's got exposed carbon, black and red leather plus a sprinkling of Alcantara for the top of the dashboard.
Usually, the 1.75-liter turbocharged engine makes 240 horsepower. And that's enough for a less-than-one-ton sports car with a carbon tub. But it doesn't grab headlines, which is why Pogea had to stroke the engine and made it into a 1.95-liter.
Why they couldn't make it a full two liters is beyond us, but from such a small displacement, the four-cylinder mill is now producing 477 horsepower. Torque has also been increased from 258 pound-feet (350 Nm) to 395 lb-ft (535 Newton-meters). How the dry-clutch gearbox handles it is beyond us.
Using this new-found grunt, the 2-seater delivers supercar-like performance with a 0 to 100 km/h time of 3.6 seconds (the standard one does it in 4.5s) and a top speed of 308 km/h (191 mph) instead of just 258 km/h (160mph). Frankly, I would never go that fast in a car without power steering, but some people like to live on the edge.
The tuner has also redesigned some of the bodywork to give the car more downforce. That gigantic rear wing combined with the Lotus-like body reminds us of the Hennessey Venom GT. The 4C's front fascia also received an aero upgrade with carbon fiber being the material of choice. The engine deck was our favorite piece until we saw the interior.
It's got exposed carbon, black and red leather plus a sprinkling of Alcantara for the top of the dashboard.
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