Alessi AR-1


Alessi is a fiberglass manufacturer that designed the AR-1 to show off what it could do with fiberglass way back in 1979. It originally showed up as a concept at the 1979 New York Auto Show and was eventually forgotten about – at least until 2013 when it surfaced yet again.

For 2013, Alessi Fiberglass upgraded everything about the car to bring it up to the current safety and productions standards. Plus, the AR-1 is limited to a production run of just 50 examples. There are no official production numbers to speak of as of 2016, but each one that has been built is truly a one-of-a-kind since each model is tailored to meet the customer’s specifications.


On the production model of the AR-1, the interior is customized to each customer’s specification, so no two are the same. In the images we have here, the car featured a one-piece dashboard that had an integrated passenger airbag with HVAC vents on each side. There was also a large center vent up the radio. The climate controls were of a three dial design and look to be sourced from GM as it looks similar to the climate control module used on mid-2000s GM vehicles. The door trim panels look to be wrapped in Alcantara or possible a black felt, and it looks like the speaker covers on the doors have the “BOSE” logo.

The AR-1 is powered by a GM-sourced, LS3, 6.2-liter V-8 with a 103.6 mm bore and a 92 mm stroke. It featured an all-aluminum block, 10.7-to-1 compression ratio, Sequential fuel injection, and a supercharger that produced 6 pounds of boost. It this form, it develops 600 horsepower and 580 pound-feet of torque, which is sent to the wheels via a five-speed or six-speed auto with paddle shifters, or a six-speed manual transmission. As an option, customers can trade in the supercharger for a twin-turbo setup that increases power output to 750 horsepower and 690 pound-feet of torque.


The AR-1 was estimated to hit the 60-mph sprint in 3.4 seconds and the quarter mile in just 10.7 seconds. Top speed was said to be in the neighborhood of 200 mph. The keep the car firmly on the ground, the car featured independent front and rear suspension with unequal-length upper and lower control arms, air shocks on all four corners and front and rear sway bars. Steering was handled by a power-assisted rack and pinion setup.