Hi guys. Perreby has been urging me for a few months now to introduce myself on the forum, but I've been working flat out to start a new business (more on that below). With his kind assistance, I managed to add myself to the list for the 4C Launch Edition last year. I must admit to almost chickening out when I saw the price and the deposit requirement, but I managed to convince myself that I just had to have this car.
So, to cut a long story short, I confirmed my order for an Alfa Red 4C LE a few months ago and reluctantly parted with that big deposit. I'm now waiting impatiently for my one-of-13 LEs in SA (and apparently the only one destined for Cape Town) to arrive. I received my countersigned purchase agreement last week, but I'm still waiting to hear what number I've been allocated.
I must admit to not being a long-time Alfa owner. I've always admired Alfa's history and its racing heritage, but I just didn't find any of the recent models to be exciting enough - until the 4C came along. I've owned a string of Porsches (as sports cars), BMWs (as family cars) and Renaultsports (as hot-hatch toys), but I think AR deserves support for going against the recent trend of ever-more-powerful engines in ever-heavier (and larger) cars by producing the 4C.
By way of introducing myself, I also want to mention that I've just launched a new business in Cape Town. RS Performance Cars is a specialist motor dealership, focusing exclusively on quality pre-owned performance cars - spanning the entire range from supercars to sports and GT cars, but also including hot hatches and track-day toys. I am first and foremost an enthusiast, and I know that there are many other petrolheads out there who would like to deal with people who are as enthusiastic about performance cars as they are.
Just to give you some idea of what we're about, our opening stock includes the following: 2011 Porsche 911 Carrera GTS, 2004 BMW M3 CSL, 2012 Renault Megane RS 265 Trophy, 2006 Aston Martin V8 Vantage, 2011 Subaru WRX STI, 2007 Jaguar XKR Coupe, 2012 Nissan 370Z Coupe A/T and 2008 Porsche Boxster. You'll note that I don't currently have an Alfa on the showroom floor - I'd like to rectify that by adding a clean, low-mileage Giulietta 1750 QV, but I just haven't found one at the right price. If you have one of these, or any other clean, late-model performance car with FSH to sell, let me know.
If anyone's interested in more details about our cars, check out our website at
RS Performance Cars | Pre-owned Performance Cars in Cape Town or our Facebook page at
www.facebook.com/RSPerformanceCars (and feel free to "like" it if you like what you see). We're very accessibly located in Northgate Estate, at the intersection of the N1 and M5 (and on the way to Killarney), and we have lots of secure parking, so the Cape Town guys should feel free to use the showroom as a meet-up for runs. I'd also like to extend an invitation to all local members to pop in for a visit, to check out the cars and have a cup of coffee with me.
As far as the 4C is concerned, I want to keep that as my personal car - but it all depends on how well the business is doing at that point and whether I'll be able to afford to keep it. Either way, I will certainly put the car on my showroom floor for a few weeks when it arrives (hopefully by Feb 2014) - just to give local Alfisti their first chance of getting up close and personal with what I believe will be an extraordinary car.