Brandon’s Alfa 4C: Inconspicuous Exotic

Brandon Hitchman’s car collection runs the gamut. His affinity for motor vehicles and an innate ability to wrench prompted him to become a buyer and seller even before he got his license. In those formative years, his business dealings put him in touch with some folks who could help him realize some of his racing ambitions.

After linking up with a vintage racer in his hometown, Brandon began attending track days with said racer, who was kind enough to lend him the keys to their Shelby GT350 race car. The two went on to try vintage racing, and from there on, Brandon’s life revolved around racing and fixing cars of different genres, makes, and vintages.

“I always had a soft spot for Italian cars. My first car was an Alfa ‘74 Spyder, actually. I took a break from the Italian stuff to go through my muscle car phase and raise a family, and once the kids were out of the house, I was given a chance to reunite with my past — the 4C was released. The timing couldn’t have been better, really,” he recalled.

Thrilled at the idea of a mid-engine Italian exotic without the price or the attention, he had to start looking at buying one for himself. At the time he was racing Spec Miata, but Brandon was then in his late forties and unsure whether wheel to wheel held any allure for him anymore. “If I’m being honest, I wasn’t the type to ever red mist it. A lot of guys are willing to put it on the line, and I couldn’t see the sense in it any longer,” he admitted.

“I also enjoy the build process, and spec racing does not allow for much creativity. That’s when the idea of doing time trials came along. Let’s be honest: time trials in a Spec Miata aren't that exciting,” he declared. So, he considered his options. He’d already been through his Porsche phase and had grown to find them a little anodyne, and though the newest Supra was a performance bargain he couldn’t deny, he wanted to take a less-traveled path.

So he bought a 4C and was immediately delighted. The turbo response, the theater, the sense of occasion, the shape, and the interior were all wonderful. “It smelled exactly the same as my old Spyder inside — that took me back thirty years,” he said.

Soon after, he began tracking it. The stability of the suspension, the destabilizing shove of the turbo motor, and some of the ergonomics proved themselves less than track-worthy. A pretty performance car, sure, but not exactly one meant to turn fast laps consistently. “I loved its looks, but it comes with a small assortment of problems which keep it from being as functional as I wanted it to be.”

The factory seats are beautiful, gorgeous Sabelts, but they offer the support of a bench seat in a 1980s Bronco,” he began. In their place, he installed a set of seats typically used in another pint-sized machine, the Tillet B5s as used in the Lotus Elise.

Visibility is good, width is good, though for Brandon, whose ape index is quite high, the fore and aft are not great.

Though the aftermarket for this car is somewhat limited, there are a few dedicated advocates who’ve seen the shortcomings in the 4C and made the necessary improvements available for a premium price. Closer inspection reveals a tightly-packed MacPherson rear arrangement — one of the compromises made to make a carbon-tubbed car priced at $80,000.

“It didn’t have the stability to handle the change under load — the dynamic toe-out under braking was an issue,” he added.

Rudi Gale of Gale Motorsports is a Slovenian who dedicates himself to hill climbing and racing his 4C. Though his car doesn’t boast much in the way of power mods, its suspension issues have been addressed, and Brandon followed suit. “I’ve pretty much copied Rudi’s setup because it’s proven and there’s no need to reinvent the wheel. I bought his rear control arms and then his front control arms, which both feature a spherical bearing setup and are much stronger. They also use the same factory attachment points.Now the quality of the rear is more aligned with the dual wishbone front suspension.

Then he installed a set of GMS swaybars specced to run with the Nitron coilovers and the arms, then corner balanced it. “I just started buying more and more suspension stuff — pretty soon it snowballed,” he recalled.

It was in dire need of an aggressive alignment. “The car has no power steering from the factory, but it also has no caster. I think probably Alfa’s engineers wanted it to be this raw sports car, but one of the marketing guys mentioned, “The average buyer of this car is in their fifties, and not many will be able to turn it.” The lack of caster didn’t help the steering self-center, toe-out made it wander.

With all those items addressed, he no longer had to constantly work the brake and the throttle to balance the car. “Everything was well integrated; the damping and the spring rates made it very driveable. It could handle curbs, has a pointy front and a stable rear to complement it.

Now comfortable with the car and pushing harder, Brandon found the 4C would snake slightly under hard braking. Fortunately, Rudi bought a carbon fiber decklid and a wing specifically for the 4C at just that moment — the timing couldn’t have been better.

Of course, this shifted the balance rearwards; forcing him to trail brake more. As luck would have it, Rudi had just released his own 3” splitter to even the aero balance.

The footwork sorted, he shifted his focus to the motor. The emphasis was not on bringing much more power into the picture, but making the stock powerplant more tractable and consistent. It had been heat soaking quite badly — even on the street. By installing a Scara 73 motorsports intercooler, he only experiences minor dropoff towards the end of a mid-summer session at Thunderhill Raceway Park.

“I’d like a little more aero in front with an open hood which the radiator could vent through. Currently, the hood is vented, but the factory radiator setup vents underneath the car,” he noted.

I started from the ground up trying to solve some of those issues. For such a low production car, I was amazed how much aftermarket support there is. Now, it’s not cheap, and I’m buying everything out of Europe — suspension parts from Slovenia and coilovers from England — but I was able to upgrade the car to solve the problems as I went. I tried to do it wisely; I didn’t just throw a bunch of upgrades at it hoping they’d solve my problems; I focused on one issue at a time.

Now, he’s mostly content learning to drive the car at its limits. It’s been rock-solid and repeatable, but traction is an issue, even with only 320 horsepower and 350 lb/ft of torque. “I’ve been struggling to put the power down, so I tried running a gear higher. I only use third and fourth at Thunderhill West, actually, and I short-shift a lot to keep it in the mid-range. I’m getting close to a 1:20 there but I’m still so late to throttle. I figure there has to be a second or so on the table just from that.

Looking back, I realize I could’ve bought a Supra, saved some time and money, and made it much faster than the 4C, but I wanted to do something a little different. No matter how many bits and bobs you throw at a regular car, they don’t make it special. I, for one, like improving a special car, one which nobody is doing much with, and taking it to the next level. Plus, it’s not a car that attracts the wrong kind of attention. I’ve owned Porsches and a Ferrari, and they tend to elicit a negative reaction. The Alfa doesn’t get much hate – no weird feelings at all.”

Sure, it’s got its quirks, but that’s what gives it its charm. The quirks and styling set it apart, and I did what I could to make it more functional. Most importantly, I’ve been able to make it mine and get something more out of it. I see a few good years ahead with this car.