Fiasco Italo-Brittanico
Appendix I: Specifications
Author
- Henri Greuter
Date
- April 17, 2009
Related articles
- March-Alfa Romeo 90CA - Fiasco Italo-Brittanico, by Henri Greuter
- Introduction
- Part 1: Alfa's inverse Midas touch
- Part 2: Indy teams keep on March-ing
- Part 3: The Indy project that became a blackmail project
- Part 4: Patrick Racing, a brief history up to 1989
- Part 5: 1989 - Alfa picking up the pieces
- Part 6: 1989 - Winning major prizes on the road to losing everything
- Part 7: 1989 - The first Alfa Romeo-powered CART racer
- Part 8: 1989 - A hopeful start for Alfa Romeo
- Part 9: Preparing for 1990
- Part 10: The 90CA in more detail
- Part 11: Exhaust solutions a 'waste' of effort?
- Part 12: 90CA on active duty - up to halfway into the month of May
- Part 13: 90CA on active duty - the early part of the second week of practice at Indianapolis
- Part 14: 90CA on active duty - wrestling through the second week of practice and qualifying
- Part 15: 90CA on active duty - about the Alfa Romeo V8 engine
- Part 16: 90CA on active duty - the last part of 'Indianapolis'
- Part 17: 90CA on active duty - after Indianapolis
- Part 18: The end of the road for March in CART and as a whole
- Part 19: The left-over hardware and where to find it
- Part 20: Final verdict on the March-Alfa Romeo 90CA
- Appendix II: Results and scores
- Appendix III: March-Alfa Romeo 90CA-related collectables and memorabilia
- March-Porsche 90P - The last oddball at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, by Henri Greuter
Who?Roberto Guerrero What?March-Alfa Romeo 90CA |
 |
Why?
This section has been compiled using data found in the Alfacorse press kit as well as the Miller Genuine Draft Indy Car media guide. As can be observed, there is a lack of consistency in some details between these two sources.
Car
| Type | March 90CA |
| Chief designer | Bert Baldwin |
| Chassis | Monocoque made of aluminum honeycomb bearing body, upper section stiffened with composite materials |
| Body and spoilers | Carbon fibre |
| Suspension | Push-rod system |
| Shock absorbers | Koni gas type |
| Brakes | Ventilated steel disc brake |
| Fuel tank capacity | 151 litres (40 gallons) |
| Wheel base |
- Alfacorse press kit data: 2845 mm for speedway version 2794 mm for road course version - Miller Genuine Draft CART Indycar media guide data: Road tracks: 2850 mm (112.19”) Oval tracks: 2926 mm (115.19”) |
| Front track | 1715 mm (67.50”) |
| Rear track | 1613 mm (63.50”) |
| Length |
- Alfacorse press kit data: 4662 mm - Miller Genuine Draft CART Indycar media guide data: 4674 mm (184”) |
| Body length | 1504 mm |
| Height |
- Alfacorse press kit data: 812 mm - Miller Genuine Draft CART Indycar media guide data: 927 mm (36.50”) |
| Length: | 183.5 inches |
| Weight: | 703 kg (1550 lb.) |
| Tyres |
Front: 24 x 10 x 15 Rear: 27 x 14 x 15 |
| Gearbox | purposely designed 6 speed + 1 reverse |
| Clutch | AP Borg and Beck triple disc |
| Number of cars built | 4 announced, at least 3 built |
Engine
| Type | Alfa Romeo Indy V8 |
| Configuration | 8 cylinders in V, four valves per cylinder, double overhead camshafts. Forced induction by means of turbocharging, watercooled. Crankcase and cylinder heads out of aluminium |
| Bore x stroke | 86 x 57 mm (3.38 x 2.24”) |
| Capacity | 2648cc (161.63ci) |
| Compression ratio | 11:1 |
| Power | 700 hp at 11,500rpm |
| Turbocharger | Garrett AiResearch, wastegate control, maximum pressure 45 inch Mercury |
| Fuel feed | Magneti Marelli IAW electronic indirect injection with two injectors per cylinder, incorporated in the direct/capacitive type ignition |
| Lubrication | Drysump, one pressure oil pump, three scavenging oil pumps |
Further comments
The 1990 Indianapolis 500 Media fact book stated in its engine section that the Alfa Romeo V8 was unique among the engines employed that year because of its use of silicon aluminum cylinder liners within the cylinder block instead of the more standard ductile iron liners.
Control of the turbocharger’s wastegate happened electronically, managed by the fully electronic management system.