The Alfa Romeo 4C has been such a tease ever since it was unveiled as a concept at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show. It is a wonderful creation. What’s not to love about a mid-engined, rear-drive, two-seater, Italian sports car? However, the closer we get to the launch of the car, the more skeptical we get about it. Will it live up to the expectations?

One way of knowing that is to attend this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed (12-14 July), where the ‘Launch Edition’ version of the 4C will be going up the hill in the hands of a pro driver. It will be a good chance to take a good look at the car as well, appreciating those gorgeous curves and pondering what the hell were they thinking when they came up with those headlights. And why is the interior looks so, well, cheap.

The 4C, regardless of some small details, has a perfect recipe. It has a lightweight compact body (under 1000 kg – 4m long, 2m wide and 118cm high) and a small and efficient, yet surprisingly potent engine. It is a 1750 cc all-aluminium, direct-injection, four-cylinder, turbocharged, petrol unit, and it makes 240 horsepower and 350Nm of torque.

The power is sent to the rear wheels via a TCT transmission that has a Launch Control function. It propels the car form zero to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds, and onto a top speed of 155 mph.

The Alfa Romeo 4C will have a limited production run, but in future it will get a spider and a hard-core performance-oriented variant.