The Alfa Romeo 4C is set to become the official safety car of the FIA World Touring Car Championship for the entirety of the 2014 season, earning a distinction that only a handful of models have been given.

The announcement comes a week after Alfa previewed the 4C Spider at the Geneva Motor Show, and if there’s anything to take away from all of this, it certainly looks like the 4C has gained a tremendous following recently.

Eurosport Events made the choice to go with the 4C as the official safety car of the WTCC largely because of its popularity , which was evident when the 4C won the grand prize as the Most Beautiful Car of 2013 at the 29th International Automobile Festival of Paris. So with the growing demand and admiration for the sports car, it was a slam dunk for race organizers to pick the 4C for this rather important role.

As for the car itself, the 4C WTCC Safety Car looks impressive, at least compared to other safety cars we’ve seen in recent years. The largely dark-red exterior color makes way for some nice touches of black and the 4C graphic plastered on the roof gives it that racing vibe befitting of the WTCC. The black stripes running down the length of the vehicle are also nice touches, as are the new wheels that really make the the model pop.

The FIA World Touring Car Championship really got a good one to serve as its safety car for the entire season. At the very least, it’s a refreshing break from all BMWs and Mercedes models we’ve seen in the past.

Click past the jump to read more about the standard Alfa Romeo 4C.