The Alfa Romeo 4C has set a lap time at the Nürburgring of 8 minutes and 4 seconds.

The time, set around the Nordschleife circuit, makes the 4C the current record holder for production cars with less than 247bhp. The set time is exactly the same as the Porsche Cayman S, one second faster than the BMW M3 E92 and almost four seconds faster than a Renaultsport Mégane 265 Trophy.

Alfa Romeo's 4C has a top speed of 160mph and can reach 0-62mph in 4.5 seconds. It's powered by a 237bhp 1750 turbocharged petrol engine producing 258lb ft of torque and fitted with Alfa's twin-clutch gearbox.

The car was shod with specially developed Pirelli Zero Trofeo tyres, which will be available on customer cars in either 17in/18in or 18in/19in sizes. A selection of tyres branded ‘AR Racing' will also be available to choose from.

Prices for the 4C start at £45,000, with up to 3500 units expected to be produced annually. Only 1000 per year will be marked for Europe, however, with around 200 examples coming to the UK. All 500 examples of the Launch Edition of the 4C - which gets additional carbonfibre trim, a rear aluminium diffuser and different alloy wheels than the standard car - have sold out already.