Fábricas Metalúrgicas Alba
| Fábricas Metalúrgicas Alba | |
|---|---|
| legal form | |
| founding | 1921 |
| Seat | Albergaria-a-Velha , Portugal |
| Branch | Automobile manufacturer , metal processing |
| Website | www.albaportugal.ning.com |
Alba was a Portuguese manufacturer of automobiles from 1952 to 1958 .
Company history
The metal processing company founded in 1921 was first called Fundição Lisbonense , then Fundição Albergariense , and in 1923 finally Augusto Martins Pereira or Alba , a derivation from the place name Albergaria. The founder's son, António Augusto Martins Pereira, was infected by the new fever of car racing in Portugal in the early 1950s and began manufacturing automobiles in the family business, which actually specializes in aluminum. The first vehicle was designed by him based on a Fiat 508 C 1100 and completed in 1952. It was primarily intended as a racing car, but was approved for road traffic, also because at the time the drivers drove their cars personally to the races. In 1953 Alba built a second car with a 1100 cc Peugeot engine .
In 1954, the Automóvel Club de Portugal made changes to its rally regulations, and allowed engines up to 1500 cc. This caused the increased participation of foreign cars. Pereira felt particularly challenged by the competition from Porsche cars, and he decided to install a 1500 cc engine in his car. After a request to buy an engine from Maserati expected enormous costs, he decided to develop an engine himself. In 1954 he completed the ALBA 1500, with which he was able to go up to 200 km / h and achieved his goal of beating Porsche cars in various races.
Various racing drivers drove the Alba cars, in particular Francisco Corte Real Pereira caused a sensation. In 1958, however, both Corte Real Pereira in the ALBA 1100 and Augusto Pereira in the ALBA 1500 retired from the Circuito de Vila Real prematurely , and the interest of the company manager subsequently waned. Car production was discontinued and in 1961 an Alba took part in a race for the last time.
Production numbers
Only two vehicles have survived, exact production figures are not known, especially since production was also carried out for other small manufacturers in Portugal, such as DM and FAP.
Web links
- Historic Alba website
- Website and forum about the Alba
- Collection of Alba articles on the Rodas de Viriato website with photos (Portuguese)
Individual evidence
- ↑ www.jornaldosclassicos.com , accessed October 1, 2012
- ↑ www.albaportugal.ning.com ( Memento of the original from January 8, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed October 1, 2012
