Alba AR2 - Giannini Carma FF LM83

Italian industrialist Martino Finotto commissioned the construction of a sports racer virtually from scratch for the new-for-1983 Group C Junior class. Tasked with the development and construction of the chassis was the newly formed Alba company, which was headed by former Osella chief engineer Giorgio Stirano. The engine was purpose built by the the Carma company, which was headed by Carlo Facetti and funded by his friend Martino Finotto as well.

Thanks to a virtually limitless budget, Stirano was able to create the very first carbon-fibre composite sports car chassis. Designed with the new Alba AR2 in mind, the Carma FF engine could be used as a partially stressed member of the chassis, while the rest of the load was carried by a tubular frame. To allow for a relatively clean airflow through the ground-effect tunnels, the springs and dampers were mounted in-board. At the front they were actuated by pull-rods while at the rear push-rods were fitted.

To power the car, Facetti created a four-cylinder engine around a cast-iron block and an aluminium head with twin overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder. Equipped with a turbo and displacing just over 1.8-litre, it initially produced 410 bhp and eventually pumped out 460 bhp. Although initially dubbed the Carma FF after Finotto and Facetti, homologation requirements prompted a partnership with Fiat-owned subsidiary Giannini. It was mated to a five-speed Hewland gearbox.Despite the use of an exotic carbon-fibre composite monocoque, the first Alba was fitted with a relatively heavy glass-fibre reinforced plastic body. It was fielded under the Jolly Club banner for Finotto and Facetti in the Sports Car World Championship. Unfortunately, the car was not ready in time for the season opener and the team's home race at Monza. It debuted at the next race, at Silverstone, where Finotto and Facetti instantly won the Group C Junior class. They repeated that feat at the Nürburgring.

The next outing came at Le Mans, where the car retired from the race early. Meanwhile, a second chassis was readied with a lighter carbon-fibre composite body. Class wins were then scored at Brands Hatch and Kyalami, which was sufficient for Finotto and Facetti to be crowned the first Group C Junior Champions. From the Imola round, in October of 1983, the second was pressed into service and the original AR2 was sold to a private team.

Finotto continued to campaign Albas for several more seasons with a variety of engines. The cars were continuously developed and Stirano also managed to sell several cars to privateers on both sides of the Atlantic. The last Alba, powered by a Subaru-badged Motori-Moderni flat-12 engine, was produced ahead of the 1990 season. None of the later cars, however, were as successful as the original Giannini engined Alba AR2.

19.6.1983 - 24 Heures du Mans
#63 François Duret
Driven by: arlo Facetti (I)/Martino Finotto (I)/Marco Vanoli (CH)
Result: did not finish (Handling)
Grid: 26th (3:42.780)


More racing of Alba here https://www.racingsportscars.com/make/photo/Alba.html