This Alfa Romeo 4C Hillclimb Car Has a Formula 3000 V8
Hillclimb cars make for some of the strangest (yet most attractive) race cars out there.
The Alfa Romeo 4C is among the cheapest of the mid-engined sports cars to be sold in America since the demise of Toyota's MR2. Sitting at $55,900 in the USA, the 4C occupies a price point in the middle ground between sports cars for us commoners, such as the Ford Mustang and Toyota 86, and the realm of supercars demanding six (or more) figures, like the Nissan GT-R. In its realm, the 4C used to be the lonely champion of the four-cylinder engine, as it has a 1.8-liter turbo four making 240 horsepower (though it now has the Porsche Boxster to keep it company).
No Google searches have turned up any automotive publications requesting more cylinders, but if more power and sound is what you need, you sometimes have to abandon your factory engine and go with something punchier. YouTube channel 19Bozzy92 has uploaded a video of a 4C hillclimb car that has been modified to accommodate the 3.0-liter Zytek V8 from a Formula 3000 car. For those unaware, Formula 3000 is a now-defunct open wheel single seater class that was situated between Formula 3 and Formula 1. According to 19Bozzy92, the engine is making 450 horsepower, and the entire car weighs a mere 700 kilograms, or approximately 1,540 pounds. This car is still well under a ton even with a driver and full load of fuel, giving it a power-to-weight ratio approaching that of hypercars.
This is not the only instance of ex-Formula racing engines making their way into hillclimb cars. Last month, we shared a BMW powered by an Indycar V8; even more well-known is the BMW 134 of Georg Plasa. It is good to see the trend of repurposing these rev-happy engines for further use is still happening, long after the series from which the V8s originate are gone.