1979 Facetti 308 Carma FF
Alfa Romeo works driver Carlo Facetti was behind several interesting 308-based competition cars. Chassis 20457 was built on a glassfibre GTB for Felice Besenzoni and competed at several international endurance events between 1977 and ’80, including at Vallelunga, the Mugello 6 Hours, Monza 1,000km and the Daytona 24 Hours. It had lightweight body panels, a stripped interior, Group 4 wheel arches and slick tyres on wide competition wheels. Facetti always carried out its preparation work to a very high standard, and accordingly developed the dry sump V8 in-house to produce over 300bhp thanks to high lift camshafts, larger carburettors and a special exhaust system.
This Facetti 308, the Carma FF, was a much more developed machine built to Group 5 specification for the 1979 World Manufacturers Championship. It featured new chassis spaceframes front and rear that fixed to the original 308’s tubular steel centre section while the 3.0 litre V8 engine was fitted with twin KKK turbochargers. Weight was reduced to 950kg, with output rising to 700bhp for races and 840bhp for qualifying. The bodywork was also restyled, only the cabin and doors remaining similar to Ferrari’s production 308. A demonstration of just how fast this car was took place at the 1981 Daytona 24 Hours where it set the fastest lap of the race on lap two!
A fascinating and superbly engineered piece of Ferrari racing history from the heady days when privateer development was often more advanced than that of the factories themselves. Well known, this is a highly regarded machine and, following a recent track test, this potential front runner in historic events is, according to the vendor, ‘on the button’.
In Detail
| submitted by | Richard Owen |
| type | Racing Car |
| body stylist | Facetti |
| production | 1 |
| engine | V8 |
| position | Mid Transverse |
| aspiration | Twin KKK Turbochargers |
| valvetrain | DOHC, 2 Valves per Cyl |
| displacement | 2926 cc / 178.56 in³ |
| bore | 81 mm / 3.2 in |
| stroke | 71 mm / 2.8 in |
| power | 626.4 kw / 840 bhp |
| specific output | 287.08 bhp per litre |
| bhp/weight | 884.21 bhp per tonne |
| body / frame | Body over Tubular Steel Chassis |
| driven wheels | RWD |
| curb weight | 950 kg / 2095 lbs |
